Careless Wishes
by Sara Wolfe
Summary: When he first came to the past, Chris thought he knew everything about his family. He was wrong. FORMERLY DOWN THE TWISTED PATH.
1. The Legend of Sleepy Halliwell

**Disclaimer:** Everything recognizable from Charmed is not mine, and I am making no money from this. It is the property of Aaron Spelling and Co.

**Author's Note:** Don't let the title fool you; this is the original version of Down the Twisted Path. I know I said that I was taking it down, but I'm reposting because I've been getting a lot of requests for it. And this time, it's staying up. I changed the title (back to the original, actually) so that it won't get confused with the new-and-improved version of DTTP (to be posted god-only-knows when). I'll be posting in parts, because I'm putting this up in my spare time.

For Gossamer, the prequel to the revamped series, go here: s/7943163/1/Gossamer

**Chapter One: The Legend of Sleepy Halliwell**

Piper looked around the play room where Wyatt and about a dozen other babies and toddlers were playing. Some were in groups, some were with their parents, and her little angel was sitting under the window, playing with blocks.

"Wyatt doesn't have any siblings, does he?"

Startled, Piper whipped her head around to stare at the woman speaking to her.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"Wyatt is an only child, isn't he?" the woman asked.

"Well, yes, but how did you know?" Piper asked, frankly puzzled as to what this woman was doing butting into what was clearly none of her business.

"Well, he doesn't play well with others," the woman continued, oblivious to Piper's amazed look.

"He's not even a year old yet," Piper protested, while a little voice in the back of her mind wondered why she was even talking to this woman.

"The sooner you start, the better," the woman said brightly. "And good socialization skills are what get a child into the best schools."

"Oh, you mean preschools?" Piper asked.

"No," the woman said. "I mean schools like Harvard and Yale. Don't tell me you haven't signed Wyatt up for preschool, yet."

"No," Piper said. "I thought I still had a few years."

"Well, to each his own, I guess," the woman said airily, "but I had my little Jasper signed up for Hoskins preschool as soon as I found out I was pregnant."

"How nice for you," Piper muttered, looking wildly around the room for an escape. Seeing Paige and Phoebe walk through the door, she hurried to their side.

"Thank God you're here," she said. "That woman was going to drive me nuts!"

"Sorry we took so long," Paige said, shrugging out of her coat and slinging it over her arm. "Traffic was just awful."

"Yeah," Phoebe said. "Some women were blocking the street, staging a protest for the right to breast feed in public."

"How do you even protest something like that?" Piper asked.

"Naked, apparently," Paige said, shaking her head in disgust. "But we're not here to discuss local politics."

"Why are we here?" Phoebe asked. "Not that I mind being here, but I just blew off a staff meeting to come. And I can't keep doing it, or Elise is going to fire me."

"Elise would never fire you; you're too valuable to the paper," Piper assured her. "And you're here because the play group is having a family day. Leo's out of the picture, so you guys are it."

"Gee, sis, we love you, too," Paige said sarcastically.

"Leo's not out of the picture," Phoebe protested. "He's around all the time."

"He's around for Wyatt," Piper corrected her. "But he's not going to be able to be around for school and all that stuff."

"Well, in that case, let's be the ideal family, with or without Leo," Paige said decisively. "What?" she asked, catching Piper's look.

"Nothing," Piper said. "It's just, how do I know I'm doing the right thing for Wyatt?"

"What are you talking about?" Phoebe asked.

"Just look at Wyatt," Piper protested, gesturing at her son.

"He's playing," Paige said.

"By _himself_," Piper emphasized. "I'm a terrible mother. I'm raising an antisocial child!"

"That's ridiculous," Phoebe told her.

"Phoebe's right," Paige said. "You are not a terrible mother, Piper, trust me."

"And don't you think you're being a little paranoid, anyway?" Phoebe asked.

Piper looked back at Wyatt just in time to see him orb out of his corner.

"No," she said, plaintively.

* * *

Piper and her sisters orbed to where Paige had sensed that Wyatt had gone, and found him standing in the middle of an alleyway.

"Wyatt Matthew Halliwell!" Piper scolded, hurrying over and picking him up. "That was a very bad thing to do!"

"I think Wyatt's misbehavior is the least of our problems," Paige said from behind them, sounding faint.

Worried, Piper started toward Paige, but she snapped back to attention and shook her head violently.

"No!" she barked, spinning to block the view of what held her attention. "Don't bring Wyatt over here. He doesn't need to see this."

"What's wrong?" Phoebe asked, joining her. Then, she gasped in horror and her hand flew to her mouth. "Oh, my God."

Staring at the headless body lying carelessly in the alleyway, she felt the bile rising in the back of her throat.

"Yeah," Paige agreed, quietly. "Look, I'll call Darryl. You and Piper go home and hit the Book. You need to find out what kind of demon could have done this."

"How do you know it was a demon?" Phoebe asked, keeping her voice quiet.

"I don't think Wyatt orbed here by accident," Paige replied. "We were meant to find this. Now, we need to stop it from happening again."

"One more question," Phoebe said. "Just how are Piper and I supposed to get home without you? I doubt Wyatt could orb us both back to the Manor."

"Give me a second," Paige told her. "Oh, and, I'm sorry in advance about the landing."

Gesturing at Phoebe to stand over by Piper and Wyatt, she closed her eyes in concentration and breathed deeply, forcing herself to relax.

Calling out "Home!", she waved her hand and watched her sisters orb away.

Taking out her cell phone, she turned back to the body and shook her head sadly.

"Who are you?" she asked.

* * *

"Ow," Phoebe whined from her place on the floor. Looking up at Piper, she continued, "Why'd you land on the couch?"

"Because I'm the one holding the kid," Piper pointed out logically. "Did you know that Paige could do that?"

"You mean, remotely orbing us here?" Phoebe asked. "Well, it's what she did to Excalibur. She's probably just been practicing."

"Probably," Piper agreed. "I'm going to go put Wyatt down, and then I want you to tell me what you saw in that alleyway."

"I'll be in the attic," Phoebe told her.

Piper carried Wyatt upstairs to his room and laid him in his crib, covering him gently with a blanket.

"Sleep tight," she whispered, kissing his forehead before walking to the door. Continuing on to the attic, she found Phoebe poring over the Book of Shadows.

"Find what you're looking for?" she asked.

"No," Phoebe said, exasperated. "How's Wyatt?"

"He's fine," Piper told her. "What did you see in the alley that you couldn't tell me about before?"

"There was a headless body not twenty feet away from Wyatt," Phoebe said quietly.

"Oh God," Piper breathed. "If he'd seen that…" Her voice trailed off in horror at the thought.

"Paige actually thinks that Wyatt orbed there purposely," Phoebe said. "That we were meant to find the body."

"It was a demonic attack?" Piper asked.

"Paige thinks so," Phoebe said. "That's why we're here, checking the Book for possible suspects, and she's dealing with Darryl."

Shooting the Book a dirty look, she added, "I hope she's having better luck than we are."

* * *

"How do you know for sure that a human didn't do this?" Darryl asked Paige, speaking in an undertone.

"Because humans usually aren't capable of beheading a person with a single blow, Darryl," Paige told him, just as quietly. "If this isn't demonic, what is it?"

"A person high on drugs, especially ones like PCP," Darryl said.

"A drug addict commits a senseless and extremely violent act of murder while under the influence, but has the uncanny sense to hide the murder weapon and obliterate any traces of himself?" Paige asked rhetorically.

"So it's demonic," Darryl conceded. "What are you going to do?"

"Wait until your group is done here, and then find something to scry with, or for Phoebe to get a premonition off of," she replied.

"Just make sure it's nothing conspicuous," Darryl hissed. "You don't want… please go over what happened, once more, Ms. Matthews," he said quickly, as another cop walked over. "For the record."

"Like I said, I was just walking along when I heard a noise coming from down here," Paige said, improvising quickly. "It sounded like a puppy, so I went to check it out. That's when I found this poor fellow."

"You thought you heard a puppy?" the officer asked, incredulity written on his face.

"Oh, yes," Paige babbled earnestly, hoping to scare the man off. "I'm a sucker for lost animals; just ask anyone. Why, I've practically got a whole menagerie at home that I've rescued. I'm probably up to one or two dozen, now."

"That's nice," the officer said, shooting Darryl a look.

"I think I can handle her," Darryl said, sharing a knowing look with the officer. "Why don't you go back to the scene?"

"You got it, Lieutenant," the officer replied, walking gratefully away.

"Handle me?" Paige asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You know what I meant," Darryl replied, tiredly.

"Right," Paige said, sobering instantly. "So, how soon till they're done?" she asked, gesturing to the forensics team. "The sooner we can start our own investigation, the sooner this stops."

"It shouldn't be too much longer," Darryl assured her. "Just be patient."

"I just can't help but think that this demon could be out there killing someone else," Paige said. "I hate the thought that another Innocent could be losing their life while I'm just sitting here, not able to do a thing."

"Welcome to a cop's world," Darryl told her, sadly.

Half an hour later, the forensics team finished their investigation and left the scene, leaving Paige free to do some investigating of her own. She searched the area meticulously, looking for anything that might have been left behind or missed by the cops, anything that could help her find the one responsible for this tragedy.

Finally, after nearly fifteen minutes of searching, she found a piece of blood-soaked cloth hanging from a jagged nail in the wall. She shivered when she recognized it as coming from the shirt worn by the young man who'd lost his life, but folded it up, nonetheless, and placed it inside her pocket.

Moving backward until she was concealed by the shadows of the alley, she orbed home, to where she sensed her sisters. She wasn't surprised to find them in the attic, working intently.

"Hey," she said quietly, startling them both. Holding up the scrap of cloth, she added, "I found something of the victim's we can use as a focus."

"Well, that's good," Phoebe said, "because we think we found the demon."

She indicated a page in the Book, and Paige took a look.

"Beylar," she read. "A Dark Priest who has lived for centuries, Beylar is best known for his use of blood sacrifices in his rituals, particularly human. There's a vanquishing potion."

"That's what Piper's working on," Phoebe said, indicating the eldest Halliwell with a nod of her head. "I'm writing a summoning spell. We'll summon him into the cage and question him there," she added, gesturing at the crystals on the floor.

"You're sure this is the guy?" Paige asked. "It doesn't really mention beheading; only sacrifices."

"As sure as we can be," Phoebe said. "There's nothing in the Book about demons who behead their victims; Beylar was the closest we got."

"I just don't want to lose another Innocent," Paige said, more to herself than anyone else. "Why don't you try getting a premonition?" she asked, speaking to Phoebe.

Phoebe held out her hand and accepted the cloth Paige dropped into it. Closing a fist around it, she closed her eyes and concentrated. After a moment, she opened her eyes and shook her head.

"Well?" Piper asked, looking up from her potions work. "Did you see anything?"

"I didn't get a premonition, but I could sense the victim's emotions imprinted on the cloth," Phoebe explained. "His pain and fear were so intense, it felt like I was the one experiencing them."

"Was there anything to tell you if Beylar is really the demon we're after?" Paige asked.

"No," Phoebe said. "All I could sense was our Innocent."

"Great," Paige remarked. "So, if this isn't the demon, we're getting ourselves into a wild goose chase."

"Have you called Chris?" she asked, quickly changing the subject. "Maybe he knows something because of his demonic contacts."

"Piper wants to do this without his help," Phoebe said.

"Let me guess; you still don't trust him," Paige said. "Piper, he did save Wyatt."

"And before that he lied to us and got my son kidnapped by the Order," Piper snapped. "So, no, I don't trust him. Besides, we don't need his help."

"Is the Beylar vanquishing potion ready?" Phoebe asked.

"Just finished it," Piper said, a note of satisfaction in her voice.

"Then let's summon him and get this nightmare over with," Paige said.

Tying the piece of cloth around a scrying crystal, she dangled it over an open flame while she and her sisters chanted the spell.

_"Magic forces black and white,_

_Bring the priest Beylar into our sight."_

"That's what you get with an hour's work?" Paige hissed. Phoebe opened her mouth but the smoke that filled area enclosed by the crystals cut off any reply she would have made.

"Who dares summon me?" a voice asked, from the center of the smoke. The smoke dissipated, revealing a tall man in stark black robes.

"We do," Paige said, unconsciously straightening to appear taller.

"The Charmed Ones," Beylar said, his voice silky. "To what do I owe this honor?"

"You killed an Innocent," Piper accused, "and we're going to stop you."

"I?" Beylar said, feigning innocence. "I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't killed a human in months."

"He's telling the truth," Phoebe said, clearly dismayed.

"Always trust the word of an Empath," Beylar remarked casually. "I must say, I admire your precautions. I should remember them for when I perform my rituals."

"You won't be performing any more rituals," Piper said, drawing back her arm to throw the potion.

"Ah, ah," Beylar said, wagging a finger at her. "You wouldn't want to kill me before hearing what I have to say, would you?"

"Piper, wait," Paige said, placing a restraining hand on her sister's arm. "He is in the cage; let's hear him out."

"Fine," Piper said. "Start talking."

"I know of the murders which you speak," Beylar began.

"What do you mean, 'murders'?" Phoebe asked. "There's been more than one?"

"Two others, to be exact," Beylar told them. "And the skill which with they're performed is admirable, to say the least."

"What's your point?" Piper asked, harshly.

"No point," Beylar said pleasantly. "Just a distraction technique."

Moving quickly, he kicked the crystal he'd been working at out of his way, and lunged toward the Book.

"Book of Shadows!" Paige snapped, quickly orbing it out of harm's way, even as Phoebe moved to confront Beylar.

Beylar simply held out his hand. A black mist radiated from his palm to engulf Phoebe, causing her to fall limply to the floor.

"Phoebe!" Paige cried, rushing to her side. Piper threw the potion at Beylar, but he just laughed as he evaded it, and tossed something at her. A tiny dart embedded itself in her shoulder, and as Piper pulled it out, Beylar disappeared.

"How's Phoebe?" she asked, worriedly, retrieving the Book from where Paige had dropped it.

"She's unconscious, her breathing is shallow, and her pulse is unnaturally slow," Paige said. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Piper said, brushing off the incident.

"Well, we need Leo, now," Paige said.

"Leo!" Piper called, clearly expecting him to appear immediately. After a moment, she called again, annoyed now. Still, there was no answer.

"Leo, get your ass down here!" Piper yelled.

"He's not coming," Paige snapped. "Obviously, becoming an Elder means he's too good to help his family."

"So, how are we supposed to help Phoebe?" Piper asked.

"Start searching the Book for ways to reverse demonically induced comas," Paige told her. "I'm going to call Darryl."

"What?" Piper demanded. "Why?"

"I need to find out if what Beylar said about those other Innocents is true," Paige said.

Catching Piper's look, she added, "We still have a demon to stop, Phoebe or no Phoebe."

* * *

Opening her eyes, Phoebe found herself standing in the foyer of the Manor.

"How'd I get down here?" she wondered aloud. "Piper? Paige? Anyone here?"

Receiving no answer, she huffed out an irritated breath and started up the stairs to the attic. But, with each step she took, her chest tightened with an unknown pressure and it became harder and harder to breathe. Finally, she was forced to turn around and return to the foyer before she passed out from lack of air.

"My sisters are up there with a demon!" she yelled, wondering if the Elders were even listening to her. "They need me!"

She waited a few moments, and then ran up the stairs again. The pressure was still there, but this time she was able to make it up to the first landing before collapsing from exhaustion. Her breathing was shallow and ragged, and her muscles were limp. She felt like she'd been running a marathon.

"You're not going to make this easy on me, are you?" she muttered, not sure if she was speaking to the Elders or herself.

"The Vision Quest is never easy on anyone, dear," a voice said, startling her.

Phoebe looked for the source of the voice and found herself staring at the Crone.

"You!" she gasped, panicking.

"Oh, relax," the Crone said, waving a careless hand. "I'm here to help you, not kill you. Not that I could anyway, seeing as how my powers don't work here."

"Why you?" Phoebe asked, struggling to stand. "And what's a Vision Quest?"

"The Vision Quest is just what it sounds like," the Crone explained patiently, as though she were speaking to a child.

"It is a journey every Foreseer must go on, as a way to prove that they've truly earned their powers. As for why me, I'm the best one on either side to help you. After all, I've been practicing my power for centuries. Not even the Source's Seer has my kind of power."

"Okay, I get all that, but why does it have to hurt?" Phoebe whined.

"Your powers have come too easily to you," the Crone said sternly. "You've had your premonitions, your levitation, and your Empathy handed to you on a silver platter. You haven't had to do a thing in order to earn them, or even keep them. But now you do. You need to prove that you're worthy of keeping your powers. And to do that, you need to work for it."

"What if I can't prove to their satisfaction, whoever they are, that I'm worthy of my powers?" Phoebe asked quietly.

"Then you'll lose them," the Crone said simply. "Shall we begin?"

* * *

"Tell me you have something for me, Darryl," Paige said into the phone, pacing around the living room impatiently.

"You're not going to like it," Darryl warned her.

"I already don't like any of it," Paige informed him. "Just give me the bad news."

"Well, it seems that your demon was right," he told her. "There have been two other murders in the past week just like this one. The victims were beheaded and dumped in an alley, and the killer left no traces of himself. Neither case has any leads"

"So we know he likes patterns," Paige said. "How does that help us?"

"That's not all," Darryl said. "I looked up the first two victims and it turns out they've got records."

"You mean criminal records?" Paige asked.

"Yeah," Darryl said. "The first one was accused of beating his kids. The second was convicted of murdering his son and served three years."

"A vigilante serial killer?" Paige asked skeptically.

"Demons don't do vigilante work?" Darryl asked.

"Not so much," Paige replied. Hearing something from behind her, she looked up and saw Piper coming down the stairs.

"Just a second, Darryl," she said. "How's Wyatt?" she asked, covering the mouthpiece with her free hand.

"He's sleeping peacefully," Piper told her. "Are you _sure_ he didn't see anything in that alley?"

"As sure as I can be without having orbed there before him," Paige said. "Look, Darryl's got some news about our demon. It seems Beylar was telling the truth."

As Piper gasped in shock, Paige turned her attention back to the phone conversation.

"Have you identified the third victim, yet?" she asked.

"I should have a name for you in a couple of hours," Darryl said. "I just need to light a fire under Forensics' butts."

"Well, we're going to continue working on this end," Paige said, her tone suddenly weary. "We'll call you if we find the demon."

"Sure," Darryl said, hanging up.

Paige clicked off the cordless and turned to Piper.

"So, what did Darryl have to say?" Piper wanted to know.

"Just that our demon seems to be a vigilante," Paige said. "It turns out the previous two victims had child abuse convictions against them, and it's likely that this one does as well."

"Our bad guy is killing bad guys," Piper said. "That's certainly a new one."

"Yeah," Paige agreed. "And there's a small part of me that wants to let him continue what he's doing."

"Paige," Piper said warningly.

"I said a small part," Paige grumbled. "I just can't stand people who abuse their kids. How's Phoebe?" she asked, quickly changing the subject.

"I've got her inside a crystal cage up in the attic," Piper said. "I reversed the polarization on the crystals, so no one should be able to touch her."

"Did you find anything in the Book about reversing her condition?" Paige asked.

"Nothing," Piper said. "I did learn more about Beylar, though. It seems he uses a paralyzing agent to subdue his victims before he kills them. I'm assuming that's the mist we saw."

"Wonderful," Paige sighed. "You know, Chris and his demonic contacts could really come in handy right about now."

"I don't want him around Wyatt," Piper snapped.

"Piper," Paige said, clearly exasperated, "he had a good reason for doing the things he did."

"It still doesn't excuse the fact that he got my son kidnapped," Piper muttered darkly.

"Even if he saves Wyatt from turning evil?" Paige asked softly.

"And that's another thing," Piper retorted. "How do we know that it wasn't the Order that turned Wyatt evil in Chris' future? How does _he_ know?"

"I think we can safely assume that since he's still here, Wyatt's still evil in the future," Paige said.

"What are you talking about?" Piper asked.

"Think about it," Paige said. "Chris came back to stop Wyatt from turning evil. If he'd accomplished that already, he'd have gone back to the future because Wyatt would be good and Chris would have no reason to come back."

"Come again?" Piper asked, confused.

"Never mind," Paige said, shaking her head. "Back to my original point, I think Chris could really help us."

"No," Piper said flatly, spinning on her heel and stalking into the kitchen. Clearly, the discussion was over.

Paige heaved a sigh and followed her sister. She found Piper standing at the island, furiously throwing ingredients into a saucepan simmering on the stovetop.

"I said no," she growled without looking up.

"I wasn't going to talk about that," Paige assured her. "What are you making?"

"Another batch of the Beylar vanquishing potion," Piper said. "We're going to summon him, make him reverse Phoebe's coma, and then we're going to vanquish his sorry ass."

"Piper, if we couldn't handle him with the Power of Three, how, exactly, do you propose we take him on ourselves?" Paige asked.

"We'll manage," Piper said shortly. "Where are you going?" she asked, seeing Paige walking out of the kitchen.

"Book of Shadows," Paige replied. "There's still a vigilante demon roaming around on the loose."

"I thought you couldn't do anything more until Darryl calls again," Piper said.

"Well, I can't just sit around and do nothing," Paige retorted.

"Well, take this with you," Piper said, grabbing a vial and filling it with the vanquishing potion. As she went to hand the vial to Paige, her hand suddenly went slack, and the vial slipped from her grasp.

"Vial," Paige called, rescuing it from smashing on the floor. "What's wrong with you?" she asked, turning her attention to Piper.

"I don't know," Piper said, confused. "I lost my grip and now I can't move my hand."

"Are you sure Phoebe was the one hit with Beylar's paralyzing agent?" Paige asked, rhetorically. "Never mind," she added, after a moment. "Let's just get you up to the attic while you can still walk."

Slipping an arm around her sister's waist, they started the walk to the attic. By the time they reached the top of the stairs, Paige was supporting all of Piper's weight, and had to orb them the rest of the way or risk dropping her.

"What are you doing?" Piper gasped weakly.

"Putting you in the crystal cage with Phoebe," Paige said. "It should keep you both safe."

She orbed one of the crystals into her hand, breaking the crystals' circuit, and eased Piper down to the floor beside Phoebe. Stepping back, she replaced the crystal and watched the cage shimmer back into existence.

Piper tried to say something, and a look of panic came into her eyes when she realized she could no longer move her mouth.

"Don't worry," Paige assured her. "I'm going to find Leo and get him to heal you, and then I'm going to vanquish Beylar. I won't be gone long, I promise."

Exiting the attic, she shut the door softly and placed her hands against it, focusing her energy on the room and its precious occupants. Taking a deep breath, she whispered her spell.

_"I call upon the Powers, above,_

_To stand guard over the ones I love._

_Protect those within this space;_

_Keep all evil from this place."_

"Keep them safe," she hissed at the Elders before she ran downstairs.

* * *

"So, did Beylar send me on this Vision Quest?" Phoebe asked.

"The Priest only put you in a coma. We took advantage of that fact to put you to this test," the Crone informed her.

"We?" Phoebe asked. "Who are 'we'? And how are you here, anyway? We vanquished you."

"We are the Tribunal," the Crone answered. "We are the governing force behind magic, both good and evil. And you only thought you vanquished me."

"I take it you're a part of this Tribunal?" Phoebe asked.

"Of course," the Crone said. "How else would I have been able to pass that law regarding your sister's baby?"

"But what-" Phoebe began, but the Crone cut her off impatiently.

"No more questions," she said imperiously. "Your trial begins now."

"What do you mean?" Phoebe asked frantically, but the Crone ignored her in favor of continuing up to the attic. Phoebe was left with no choice but to follow her. She noticed with some relief that her earlier problems with climbing the stairs seemed to be gone. For the moment, at least.

"What are we doing up here?" Phoebe asked, entering the attic. "Hey! You can't touch that!" she yelped, seeing the Crone handling the Book of Shadows.

"It's a Vision Quest. I can do whatever I want," the Crone informed her. "Besides, it's not the real Book of Shadows."

"Oh," Phoebe said. "Right. So what's my first test going to be?"

"This," the Crone said, lazily waving her hand. At the gesture, a demon appeared in the middle of the attic.

"What am I supposed to do?" Phoebe asked, looking nervously at the Crone. "Fight him?"

"No," the Crone said. "Learn from him."

"Learn what?" Phoebe asked, but the Crone refused to answer, choosing, instead, to settle on the couch on the far wall. After a moment, Phoebe turned warily toward the demon.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Not who," the demon intoned, "but what. I am a manifestation of your failures."

"What am I supposed to be learning from you?" Phoebe asked.

The demon just smiled and threw a fireball at her. Yelping, she dove out of the way and hit the floor, scraping her shoulder as she fell. Scrambling to her feet, she tried to get away from the demon, but he reached her, anyway, and clamped his hand around her upper arm. Phoebe gasped, shuddering, as she was thrown into a premonition.

_She was crouched on the attic floor, cowering in fear. Someone was coming slowly toward her, his expression menacing._

_"Paige, what's the matter?" Cole asked. He lobbed a fireball at her and laughed cruelly as she cringed away. "Are you okay?"_

_"How did you do that?" she cried._

_"Do what?" Cole asked softly._

_"Just admit it," she said. " You're a demon, just tell the truth."_

_"Paige, I can't believe you'd even think that," Cole said, advancing on her. "You're the one who's acting strange. If you keep this up, you're gonna hurt yourself."_

_She crawled backward, fearfully. "Stay away from me! I'm gonna tell Phoebe!"_

_"Oh, come on," Cole scoffed. "You don't really think your sisters would leave me alone with you if I was evil."_

_"Stay away from me," she whimpered._

_"You really think Phoebe would have married me if I was a demon?" Cole asked, his voice dangerously quiet. His eyes blazed and she shrank back in terror._

_Just then, Cole's phone rang and his whole demeanor changed. "Hello?" he said, cheerfully. All she could hear was his side of the conversation, and she was grateful for the brief respite._

_After a moment, he continued, "Does that mean you found Karen? Perfect. Well, that means she can't expose you guys as witches. You know what? If we hurry, we can still make late check-in."_

_Phoebe must have said something because he chuckled. "I can pack for you. I know what I like," he said suggestively. _

_He listened to the other end for a second before saying quickly, "Hey, wait-wait-wait. Why don't you tell Leo and Piper to orb straight to Hawaii, don't even bother packing. You never know when the next demon's gonna attack."_

_Smiling in satisfaction, he turned just as she made a break for the door. Flames engulfed him and quickly died down, and she stopped in her tracks._

_"Stop it," she cried, hating how her voice cracked with fear, but unable to do anything about it. "Why are you doing this?"_

_"What's the matter?" Cole asked, mockingly. "Seeing things?" _

_Turning on his heel, he stalked out of the attic. She watched him go before losing it. She began destroying random objects in the attic, stopping only when a beam of energy shot from her palms, obliterating a dollhouse. She stared for a moment at what she'd done, then sank to the floor, sobbing desolately._

Phoebe tore her arm from the demon's grasp and glared at the Crone.

"Why did you make me see that?" she hissed, furiously. "What was I supposed to learn from that?"

"Your sister was being tortured by your husband, and you took his side over hers," the Crone said nonchalantly. "You could have used your powers to find if she was telling the truth, but you blindly chose to believe only what you heard."

She gestured and the demon shimmered out of existence.

"I get it," Phoebe snapped. "I was a terrible person and a terrible sister. But I've changed since then."

"Have you?" the Crone asked mildly. She waved again, and Phoebe was hit with a series of premonitions.

_"Thanksgiving is early this year!" she sang out, walking up the steps holding the turkey that had been Spencer Ricks._

_**X**_

_"Phoebe!" Paige yelled, exasperated. "What about Leo?"_

_"I have a DJ to grill," Phoebe informed her, walking away without a second thought._

_**X**_

_She was standing in front of Jason's Parisian business partners, turning food into snails and casting curses on his merger. _

**X**

"That last one was only a short while ago, wasn't it?" the Crone asked. "You don't seem to have changed since then."

Ashamed with herself, Phoebe didn't say anything for a long while. When she finally did speak, it was in a much more subdued tone.

"I guess I'm not worthy of my powers after all," she said, dejectedly. "Am I going to lose them?"

"That depends," the Crone said cryptically.

"On what?" Phoebe asked, scarcely daring to hope that she might not lose her powers after all.

"On this last trial," the Crone said. She gestured, and Phoebe was hit with a force that rocked her backward. She felt like she was falling, then she felt nothing at all.

* * *

"Chris!" Paige yelled, as she hit the bottom of the stairs. "Chris, get down here!"

"What?" the young witch-lighter asked frantically, as he orbed in. "What is it?"

"Where's Leo?" Paige snapped.

"He's Up There, in a meeting with the Council of Elders," Chris told her. "He's been sequestered all day. Why?"

"Well, I need you to orb his ass down here, or some other Whitelighter, because Phoebe's in a coma and Piper's about to die," Paige said angrily.

"What do you mean, Piper's about to die?" Chris asked, panicked.

"She was infected by some sort of paralyzing agent, and it won't be long before the paralysis spreads to her lungs and heart," Paige informed him.

"I'll get him," Chris said quickly, orbing away. The light from his departure had barely faded when Paige's cell phone shrilled insistently.

"It's me," Darryl said, when she answered. "I've found at least two other victims, besides the two your demon friend mentioned. All had prior convictions of abuse."

"Great," Paige sighed, dropping her head in her hands. "Got any more bad news?"

"Actually, I do," Darryl said quietly. "Turns out the last victim, the one Wyatt found, doesn't match the others. He doesn't have any convictions, doesn't even have an arrest record."

"What's that mean?" Paige asked.

"It means your killer is getting careless," Darryl said. "He's no longer as picky about who he kills."

"He's going after true Innocents, you mean," Paige said, resigned. "Thanks, Darryl. Call if you find anything new."

She clicked off the phone just as Chris orbed in, with Leo in tow.

"Where the hell have you been?" she snarled, turning on her ex-brother-in-law.

"I was in a very important meeting," Leo told her. "I don't appreciate being interrupted."

"Come with me," Paige growled, grabbing him and hauling him up the stairs.

Flinging the attic door open, she pulled him over to where Piper and Phoebe lay. Piper was gasping desperately for breath, a panicked look in her eyes. Paige orbed one of the crystals away and shoved Leo forward.

"Heal her," she snapped.

"I don't understand," Leo said, turning to her.

"Heal. Her." Paige repeated slowly, her face carefully devoid of any emotion. After a heartbeat, Leo turned back to her sisters.

Satisfied that he wasn't going to leave them alone, Paige grabbed the Innocent's shirt scrap went downstairs to where Chris was waiting.

"Let's go," she said, snatching her purse and keys from the table.

"Go where," Chris asked, trailing her out to her car.

"We have demons to vanquish," Paige said shortly. "You're a witch, so you get to help me."

"Do you even know where these demons are?" Chris asked.

"I will," Paige said, handing him the keys. "You're driving."

"Why me?" Chris asked, climbing in the driver's seat, regardless.

"Because I need to focus on finding the demon," Paige said.

"How are you going to do that?" Chris asked.

"My Whitelighter sensing ability extends to detecting evil," Paige said. "It's time I worked on developing it."

"That's a good point," Chris conceded.

Starting the car, he backed down the driveway and drove down the street, going wherever Paige told him to. She was sitting in the passenger seat, the bloody cloth in her hands and her eyes closed in concentration.

After about fifteen minutes, she opened her eyes and pointed.

"This one," she said, indicating a small yellow house on the right side of the street.

"The demon lives in suburbia?" Chris asked skeptically.

"I'm not so sure it is a demon," she said softly. "Come on."

Getting out of the car, she walked up to the door, Chris following quickly behind.

"What are you going to do?" he hissed, as Paige lifted her hand to knock. "Say, 'Hi, I'm here to vanquish the serial killer who lives here?'"

"Of course not," Paige replied.

"Then what?" Chris asked.

"I'm not sure," Paige told him. "I hadn't thought that far ahead."

She went to knock again, when they heard a child's scream from inside the house. Paige grabbed the doorknob and twisted as Chris shoved at it with his telekinesis. The door shuddered in its frame, but otherwise didn't budge. They tried again, as another scream split the air.

"Can you orb the door away?" Chris asked.

"And risk the whole neighborhood outing us as witches?" Paige hissed, shoving at the door with her shoulder.

Chris nodded shortly. "Stand back," he said quietly.

Focusing his will, he gathered his power and shoved at the door with all his strength. The door groaned and then flew open to slam into the wall. He and Paige flew inside, in time to see a man go flying across the room. His assailant was tall, dressed all in black, and carried a long axe.

The man lay crumpled in the corner, as his assailant advanced on him menacingly.

"Hey!" Paige shouted, waving to get the demon's attention. "Over here!"

The demon ignored her in favor of going after his victim, and Paige orbed over without a second thought, placing herself between the man and the axe headed for his neck.

Chris watched, horrified, as the axe fell toward Paige, the demon clearly unable to stop it in time.

"No!" he yelled, holding his hand out and wondering if he was already too late to stop it.

* * *

Phoebe opened her eyes and found herself once again in the foyer of the Manor.

"Very funny," she called, wondering if anyone on the Tribunal was listening to her. "I thought I was supposed to facing one last trial."

"Whom are you talking to?" Piper asked, coming up behind her and scaring her half to death.

"Um, no one," Phoebe stammered, looking around.

"Well, if you're done talking to no one, we need you in the sun room," Piper told her. "Paige thinks she found the demon."

"Oh, really," Phoebe said. "So, is there a vanquishing spell, or potion, or what?"

"You'll see," Piper said cryptically, stopping in front of the doors. Holding one open, she gestured. "After you."

Eying her sister warily, Phoebe stepped over the door jamb, and was scared out of her wits once again as half a dozen people leapt up from hiding places, shouting 'surprise'.

"What is this?" Phoebe asked, turning to Piper in confusion.

"Your baby shower, silly," Paige said, joining her sisters.

"Baby shower?" Phoebe echoed, looking down. Sure enough, she was visibly pregnant.

"You didn't think we were going to let our niece go without a baby shower, did you?" Piper asked, hugging her.

"You guys," Phoebe said, feeling herself tear up. "This is so sweet."

"Aunt Phoebe, Aunt Phoebe!" a chorus of voices cried, drawing her attention downward. Two boys, one with long blond hair, the other with brown, ran up and stopped abruptly in front of her.

"Open our presents for the baby first, Aunt Phoebe," the blond boy said, brandishing a messily wrapped package at her.

"We picked 'em out and wrapped 'em without any help from Mom," the brunette bragged. Phoebe shot Piper a questioning look, and her sister smiled.

"Guys, why don't you let Aunt Phoebe sit down?" she suggested. The boys darted off and cleared one of the armchairs off, gesturing grandly for her to take a seat.

"Mine first, mine first!" the blond cried, shoving his package at her.

"Wyatt," Piper reprimanded gently. "Let your little brother give Aunt Phoebe his present, too."

Phoebe accepted the presents and looked at the boys.

"Thank you," she said sincerely.

Looking up at her sisters, she saw Piper beaming with pride. Paige had a wistful look on her face. But before Phoebe could find out more, she felt something pulling at strained, trying to see further but the world jerked, and she found herself standing in the attic, facing the Crone once again.

"I thought I was supposed to be facing another trial," she said, confused.

"So I did," the Crone mused. "You passed, by the way."

"But I don't understand," Phoebe said, confused. "What was my trial?"

"At the end, when I pulled you out, you wanted to use your powers, to learn more," the Crone informed her. "That was all that was needed."

"You're saying all I had to do was try to get a premonition?" Phoebe asked.

"No," the Crone stated. "You had to genuinely want to use your powers."

"Does this mean I get to keep my powers?" Phoebe asked.

"Only so long as you don't abuse them," the Crone told her sternly. "Remember, we of the Tribunal can remove them at any time we so choose."

"I'll remember," Phoebe assured her.

The Crone nodded once and faded away, leaving Phoebe standing alone in the middle of the attic. Even as she wondered how to get out of her situation, she thought she could hear someone faintly calling her name. A heartbeat later, she found herself lying on the floor of the real attic, Piper and Leo on either side of her.

"Hey, sis," Piper said. "Where'd you go to?"

"You're never going to believe it," Phoebe told them, getting to her feet. "But, later. Don't we have a demon to vanquish?"

"Beylar," Piper informed her. "Paige already went after the one killing all the Innocents."

Phoebe smiled. "Then let's go get Beylar."

Going over to the Book, which was still open to the Dark Priest's page, she laid her hands on it and focused.

A few moments later, her eyes snapped open and she grabbed the nearby vial of vanquishing potion someone had left on the table.

"Got him," she said simply, walking out of the attic. Piper followed, wondering just what had happened to her sister.

* * *

Chris watched, horrified as the axe descended on Paige and the man. He held his hand out, trying to stop it telekinetically, but Paige was quicker.

She grabbed the man's arm and orbed them both away, appearing behind the demon on the far side of the room. Chris promptly changed his direction and sent the demon flying across the room, separating him from his axe.

Undaunted, the demon got back up and advanced slowly on Paige, who was still protecting the man. Chris started toward her, but a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach warned him they weren't going to be able to protect the man for much longer.

Suddenly, he caught a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. Turning, he saw a young girl huddling in the corner, her hands over her mouth and tears shining in her eyes. Acting on a hunch, Chris changed tactics and approached her carefully.

"Hey," he said softly. "What's wrong?"

"I-I made him, but now I can't stop him," she whispered tearfully.

"Him?" Chris said. Shooting a look behind him, he asked, "You created that demon?"

"I just wanted him to stop hurting me," she whispered. Chris blinked, not sure if she was still talking about the demon.

"What do you mean you can't stop the demon?" he asked, deciding to focus on the more immediate danger at hand.

"He used to go away when I told him to, but now he won't," the girl said, sniffling.

"How did you create him?" Chris asked, trying to figure out how to end the threat.

"I wished for a protector and he came," the girl told him.

"Can't you just wish him away?" Chris asked, looking back at Paige, who was still evading the demon. She shot him a desperate look before orbing herself and the man away from danger again.

"I tried!" the girl cried, her voice cracking with hysteria. "It's not working," she added softly.

"Try again," Chris urged. "Here, I'll help you."

Taking the girl's hands in his own, he coached her gently.

"Close your eyes and imagine him gone," he said quietly. "Make a wish, like you did when you summoned him. Wish him away, somewhere where he can't hurt anyone."

"Go away, go away, go away," the girl whispered, a furrow appearing in the middle of her forehead.

"Focus," Chris encouraged, giving her hands a gentle squeeze.

"Go away, go away, go away," the girl repeated, her voice becoming stronger and more confident by the moment.

Chris dared to take a look behind him just in time to see the demon disappear into thin air. Paige reversed her flight mid-orb and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Thank God," she breathed. "I didn't know how much longer I could keep that up for."

"Why didn't you just orb out?" Chris asked. Feeling a weight in his hand, he looked down and saw Paige's cell phone in his grasp.

"And leave you and her alone with the demon?" Paige asked. "At least my orbing kept him distracted while you worked with the kid."

Making eye contact with him, she mouthed, "Call Darryl."

"Now," she continued, turning to the man she had an iron grip on. "Why don't you tell me why this little girl was willing to summon a demon to try and protect herself from you?"

"I don't have to tell you anything," the man growled, twisting his arm away. He tried to bolt for the door but found Chris blocking his path.

"You're going to start talking, or I'm going to put a truth spell on you," Paige said, her eyes flashing furiously. "The choice is up to you."

"I hear truth spells hurt," Chris said idly, dialing Darryl's number. As he listened to the ringing of the phone, he turned to the girl.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Rebecca," she whispered. "But everyone calls me Becky."

"It's nice to meet you, Becky," Chris said. "I'm Chris and that woman is Paige."

"Is she going to keep my daddy from hurting me?" Becky asked, her voice trembling.

"That's why I'm calling the police," Chris assured her, trying not to show how angry he really was. "He is never going to hurt you again."

"Hello, Sheila," he said, when Darryl's wife answered the phone. "It's Chris. I need to speak to Darryl."

"What is it, Chris?" Darryl asked, picking up the phone.

"Paige and I found and dealt with the demon," Chris said quietly. "Now, we need you to come arrest the guy he was going to kill."

"Another not-so-Innocent?" Darryl asked.

"Exactly," Chris said. "You should hurry. I don't know how long I can keep Paige from finishing what the demon started. Or myself, for that matter."

"Give me ten minutes," Darryl said, upon hearing the address. Hanging up the phone, Chris turned to Paige.

"Darryl said ten minutes," he told her. Paige nodded wordlessly.

"Is she okay?" she asked after a moment.

"Yes," Becky said, surprising them both. "He only hit me once, tonight."

"Only," Paige repeated, pain crossing her face as she remembered what Becky's father had told her.

A sudden knocking on the door drew everyone's attention, and Chris let Darryl and a pair of uniformed officers into the house. While the uniforms handcuffed Becky's father and read him his rights, Paige took Darryl aside and explained everything to him.

"He admitted to abusing her for years," she said quietly, looking to where Chris was talking softly to Becky. "It turns out she was using thought projection to conjure the demon as a protector, but since it couldn't go after him, it went after other child abusers. I swear, I could just… "

"I know," Darryl commiserated. "But, if the evidence holds, he's never going to touch his kid again. Does she have any other family?"

"According to him, he's her only living relative," Paige told him. "But I've got an idea for a foster home."

"Will you have to bind her powers?" Darryl asked.

"No," Paige said, smiling for the first time that day. "I think he'll be just fine with the idea of a magical daughter."

* * *

"So the Innocent was really the bad guy?" Phoebe asked, later that night at P3.

"Yeah," Paige said, leaning back into the couch cushions. "Our demon was just a little girl's cry for help."

"So what happens to Becky, now?" Piper wanted to know.

"I found her a good foster home," Paige told them. "You guys remember Derek, the guy with the Manticore baby?"

"He adopted her?" Piper asked, clearly delighted.

"Well, it's just a fostering, right now," Paige clarified, "but I'll be working with him to help speed up the adoption process. Both he and Becky are thrilled by the situation, and Becky loves having a baby brother."

"Sounds like you're in your element," Phoebe said. "Does this mean you're going to go back to social work?"

"You never can tell," Paige said. "So, you guys vanquished Beylar?"

"Once Phoebe had a premonition showing us where he was," Piper said beaming with pride over her younger sister's accomplishments.

"You're having premonitions on command, now?" Paige said, raising an eyebrow. "I'm impressed."

"Well, let's just say that I've got a new outlook on my powers," Phoebe said. "Excuse me," she added, spotting Chris as he entered the club.

"Chris, can I talk to you?" she asked, approaching him quickly.

"Sure," Chris agreed, leading the way to Piper's office.

"I'm going to ask you a question, and I want you to tell me the truth," Phoebe said firmly, once the door had been shut.

"Okay," Chris said, surrendering to the inevitable confrontation.

Phoebe took a deep breath and steeled herself, wondering how to best phrase the question.

"Are you Wyatt's younger brother?" she asked finally.

Chris was silent for so long that Phoebe feared he was going to not answer her. Finally though, he did respond.

"Only if I can get my parents together in time," he said softly.


	2. I Dream of Phoebe

**Chapter Two: I Dream of Phoebe**

"Hey, Aunt Phoebe."

Phoebe jumped, surprised, and looked up to see Chris standing in the doorway of her office.

"Hey, stranger," she greeted, hugging him as he came over. "Where have you been the past few days?"

"Running calculations," he said.

"Calculations for what?" Phoebe asked, shutting the door softly.

"My conception date," Chris admitted. Running a hand through his already messy hair, he added, "I've got three weeks."

"Cutting it kind of close, aren't you?" Phoebe quipped. Seeing the hurt look in his eyes, she relented.

"Don't worry," she said. "We'll figure out a way to get your parents together in time."

"I was thinking of a love potion," Chris said, eagerly. Phoebe shook her head.

"We're not going to magically drug your parents to get them to sleep together," she said sternly. "Not unless there are no other options."

"So, what do you suggest?" Chris asked.

"I don't know, yet," Phoebe admitted. "What I do know is that Elise will have my head on a platter if I don't get today's column in before the deadline."

Picking the top envelope off the pile of unanswered mail, she waved it for emphasis, then her body seized as she was overcome by a premonition.

_A woman cowered, her mouth open in a silent scream, as a demon hurled a fireball directly at her. Then, she went up in flames as the fireball hit her._

Phoebe gripped the edge of her desk, Chris steadying her from the other side, as she recovered from the vision.

"What did you see?" he asked, worriedly.

"I really wish everyone would find a new way to ask me that," Phoebe joked, weakly. Sobering, she added, "There's a woman about to be killed by a demon."

"Probably the letter writer," Chris said, taking the envelope from her and looking at the return address. "Jinni GeNie."

"Where is she?" Phoebe asked.

"Cairo, Egypt, at an archeologist's dig site," Chris said. "Since when do Egyptian archeologists write to a San Francisco advice columnist?"

"It's certainly a first," Phoebe said, taking the letter and reading it quickly, to see if she could discern anything about the woman's situation.

"That's not my point," Chris insisted. "What if this is a trap?"

"What if it isn't and there's really a woman in danger?" Phoebe countered. Grabbing his arm, she added, "Start orbing."

Chris sighed, but orbed anyway. They arrived at the dig site and looked around, cautiously.

"Jinni?" Phoebe called. "Jinni, we're here to help you."

"Oh, thank you!" a young woman exclaimed, darting toward them from her hiding place behind a rock heap. "You must save me!"

"Save you from what?" Phoebe asked, puzzled. "There's no one here."

"I think you spoke too soon," Chris muttered from behind her. "Look who just joined the party."

Phoebe turned and saw a demon hulking in the entrance to the cave.

"Who are you?" Phoebe demanded, moving to stand in front of Jinni, protectively.

"I am Bosk," the demon said imperiously. "And that's my genie."

"Not for long," Chris retorted, sending Bosk flying with a wave of his hand. Bosk retaliated by throwing energy at Chris, who recoiled in pain as he was struck in the shoulder.

"My bottle!" Jinni screeched, seeing something fall from Bosk's grasp. "Don't let him get my bottle!"

Chris swept the bottle over to them with another gesture and Phoebe picked it up, before Chris orbed them all away from danger, back to the Manor.

"You're a genie!" Phoebe exclaimed, furiously, turning on Jinni as soon as they rematerialized. "How could you lie to me like that?"

"I did not lie," Jinni protested.

"You said you were an archeologist," Phoebe accused, helping Chris over to the couch. He rubbed his shoulder, gingerly.

"Leo!" Phoebe yelled. He orbed in and went to heal Chris as soon as he saw what was wrong.

"I only said that I was at an archeology dig site," Jinni informed her. "You made an assumption."

"I only did it so you would help me," she continued, pouting slightly. "I was telling the truth about being with an abusive man. Bosk was not a kind master."

"Yeah, well, glad to help," Phoebe muttered, resentment coloring her tone.

"And I'm sure you will be a much kinder master," Jinni finished, a triumphant smile on her face.

"What?" Phoebe yelped. "I'm not your master."

"You hold my bottle," Jinni said. "That makes you my master."

Phoebe exchanged an incredulous look with Leo and Chris before returning her gaze to Jinni.

"Your wish is my command," Jinni said, brightly.

"Oh, crap," Phoebe muttered.

"Why don't I go get Piper and Paige?" Chris suggested. "I get the feeling we're going to need them."

"That's a good idea," Phoebe told him, but Leo stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"And after that, you can report to the Elder's Council," he told him. "We've been discussing the possibility of sending you back to the future."

"What?" Chris exclaimed, as Phoebe gasped in shock.

"You said you couldn't do that, because of the Titans," she reminded him.

"As it turns out, Chris was lying about the Titans all along," Leo said, harshly. "Paige never died in the Titan's attack. She lived and the Titans were defeated by you three, just like he _claimed_ he helped make happen."

"Chris, is this true?" Phoebe asked, concern written on her face as she faced her nephew.

"Would you have believed me if I just told you right out that I came back to save Wyatt from turning evil?" he asked, rhetorically, rather than answering the question.

"That still doesn't excuse what you did," Leo said. "You'll face the Council, tonight."

"I really wish you would get over whatever issues you've got against Chris," Phoebe muttered darkly, angered at how Leo was treating his own son.

Then, her eyes widened and she clapped her hand to her mouth as she realized that she'd said the forbidden word. Jinni smiled brightly, nodded once, and her unconscious wish was granted.

"Leo, are you okay?" Chris asked, cautiously.

"Of course I am!" Leo exclaimed. "And, hey, don't worry about the other Elders. I'll talk to them, see if we can't reach a compromise to keep you here."

"Yeah," Chris said, slowly. "I guess I should go get Piper, now."

"Tell her to hurry," Phoebe said, a desperate look on her face.

Chris nodded and orbed away, leaving the three alone.

* * *

"I'm having a really good time, Greg," Piper cooed, snuggling closer to him on his couch.

"Well, I'm glad you're having such a good time," Greg replied. "In fact, that's sort of what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh?" Piper queried, raising an eyebrow.

"I was wondering if you wanted to make this permanent," Greg said. Piper looked at him, puzzled.

"Make what permanent?" she asked.

"I was wondering if you and Wyatt wanted to move in with me," Greg said, his voice becoming more confident by the moment. "After all, we've been going out for a couple of months, now, and you know how fond I am of Wyatt."

"Yes, but," Piper protested, but Greg eagerly overrode her.

"And," he continued, enthusiastically, "we could use this as a gauge to measure if we want to take our relationship to the next step."

"You mean marriage," Piper said, feeling faint. "Greg, I'm-"

Someone knocking on the door cut her off, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Greg got up to answer it, but returned a moment later, his expression inscrutable.

"It's for you," he said, all the earlier enthusiasm gone from his voice.

Puzzled, Piper went to the door and saw Chris leaning against the door frame.

"Chris, what are you doing here?" she asked, stepping into the hallway and shutting the door softly behind her.

"We need you at home," he said.

"Right now?" she asked. "But I'm right in the middle of a date."

"Phoebe found a genie and has already made one wish," Chris informed her, barely able to keep from rolling his eyes as she mentioned her date.

"A genie," Piper said, flatly. "Unbelievable. Only my sisters…"

She trailed off and stared at a spot on the far wall for a moment before continuing.

"Give me a minute," she said. "I can't just leave Greg hanging."

"Oh no," Chris said sarcastically, as she went back into the apartment. "We wouldn't want that."

"Greg," Piper said apologetically, as she walked back into the apartment. "I'm really sorry, but there's a problem at home that I have to take care of."

"What about what we talked about?" Greg asked.

"I'm going to need some time to think about that," Piper told him. "It's just-it's just so sudden, Greg," she told him, seeing the hurt in his eyes.

"I understand," Greg said, looking over her shoulder. Then, a sheepish look came over his face and he faced her again.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'm being childish. I'll see you later."

"Bye," Piper said, leaning in to receive his kiss.

Turning, she walked out the door, where Chris was waiting. Without a word, he orbed them both home. They orbed into the living room to find Phoebe and Leo arguing with a scantily clad woman.

"See how much this family needs you?" Chris asked.

Piper shot him a suspicious look, wondering exactly what he knew about her and Greg.

"What's going on?" she asked finally, going to where Phoebe and Leo were.

"I am not your master!" Phoebe snapped, ignoring Piper's question.

"You hold my bottle," the genie said, brightly. "Plus, you already made a wish."

"She did?" Leo asked, confused.

"Forget about it," Phoebe said, flushing guiltily. "Look, why can't you just go back in your bottle and leave us alone?"

"Because you still have two more wishes," the genie explained.

"Would someone care to make introductions?" Piper asked.

"This is Jinni," Phoebe said sourly. "She's a genie."

"That's what Chris said," Piper remarked. "What I want to know is why you brought a genie home."

"Because we didn't know she was a genie until after we went to rescue her," Phoebe fumed.

"A genie?" Paige asked, joining the group. "Someone care to bring me up to speed?"

"You and me, both," Piper said. Pinning her younger sister with a glare, she commanded, "Spill it."

"Jinni sent me a letter, asking for my help, which I got a premonition off of," Phoebe explained. "Chris and I went to help her, and we brought her here."

"Phoebe saved me from Bosk, my evil master," Jinni explained, helpfully.

"Well, get rid of her," Piper said.

"I've tried!" Phoebe cried, exasperated. "She just won't leave." Turning to Jinni, she added, "No offense."

"None taken," the genie said cheerfully.

"So, what are you going to do?" Paige asked.

"What else?" Phoebe asked, sighing.

"Book of Shadows," her sisters chorused, turning as one to go to the attic.

Paige's forward momentum, however, was stopped when her sweater and jeans transforming into a long, black evening gown. To Phoebe's surprise, she looked more annoyed than anything else.

"Did you do that?" she asked Jinni, accusingly.

"No," Jinni said. "It's lovely, though. Who conjured it?"

"Richard," Paige huffed out, angrily. "He thinks he can prove that he can control his magic by giving me elaborate gifts."

"I thought Richard was afraid of using his magic, afraid of losing control," Piper said.

"He was, at first," Paige said. "It's just been lately, the past couple of days, that he thinks he's invincible."

"Maybe he really can control his magic," Phoebe suggested.

"I hope so," Paige sighed. "I just can't help thinking about what happened the last time he used magic, the reason he said he stopped using it in the first place."

"Maybe you should go talk to him," Piper said.

"What about Jinni?" Paige asked, nodding at the genie. "Or what if Bosk comes back?"

"If we need you, we'll call," Phoebe assured her, making shooing motions with her hands. "Right now, it sounds like you've got your own magical mess to clean up."

"Okay," Paige said, somewhat reluctantly. "But you call me if you need me for anything."

"We got it, Mom," Piper teased. "Now, go."

As she was walking out the door, a pair of earrings appeared on her ears. She huffed in irritation, grabbed her car keys, and stormed out to her car.

"Attic," Piper said, hiding a smile behind her hand.

"Genies, genies," Phoebe muttered, flipping through the pages. Then, her frantic flipping stilled as she came to a particular page.

"Find anything on genies?" Piper asked from the couch where she was rocking Wyatt.

"No, but I found Bosk," Phoebe replied. "Turns out he's an upper level demon."

"And?" Piper asked, prompting her to continue.

"And nothing," Phoebe said. "That's all the Book says about him."

"So, we're no further than before," Chris commented.

"Basically," Phoebe informed him, returning to her scrutiny of the Book. Jinni looked over her shoulder and spoke up whenever they passed the page of one of her former masters.

"Sounds like you really got around," Piper commented.

"I _am_ a very popular genie," Jinni said, proudly. "I'm very good at what I do."

"And you'll continue to do it in my service," a new voice said, arrogantly. They whirled around to see Bosk and several demons standing by the window.

"Get Wyatt out of here," Piper said urgently, passing her son to Leo.

He hurried out of the attic as Piper flung her hands out at Bosk. The demon rocked slightly as the energy of her magic hit him, but was otherwise unaffected. He laughed and dangled an amulet tauntingly at them.

"I'm protected from witches' magic," he informed them. "I knew I would need the protection for when I faced you next. Now, give me my genie."

"What do we do now?" Chris hissed, glancing at Piper and Phoebe. Jinni looked at them, panic in her eyes.

"Jinni, I wish you free!" Phoebe exclaimed, unable to think of anything else.

The genie was surrounded by a glowing pink mist, which soon dissipated to reveal Jinni standing there, a cocky look on her face.

Turning to Bosk, she asked, "Who's the master now?"

Forming a fireball in the palm of her hand, she launched it at Bosk, vanquishing him as Piper and Chris gaped in astonishment. She moved to grab the bottle from the floor, but Chris summoned it to him, and held it protectively. Jinni looked furious, but quickly recovered.

"Thanks," she sneered, turning to them. "You'll never know just what you've done."

With a wave of her hand, she disappeared in a swirl of sand.

"What just happened?" Piper yelped. "And where's Phoebe?"

"In here," a thin voice called, from inside the bottle Chris held. Piper peered into the opening and saw Phoebe inside.

"Get out of there," she said sternly.

"I can't," Phoebe said miserably. "Not until my master orders me."

"Well, who's that?" Piper asked.

"Chris," Phoebe replied.

* * *

"Richard?" Paige asked, her voice echoing slightly in the mansion. "Richard, where are you?"

"In here," Richard called. Paige followed the sound of his voice until she found him in the kitchen, mixing something in a pot.

"What's that?" Paige asked.

"It's a potion," Richard replied, without looking up at her.

"Should you really be using magic?" Paige asked, neutrally.

"Why not?" Richard asked. "By the way, how do you like your presents?"

"They're lovely, but the conjuring has got to stop," Paige told him.

"What are you talking about?" Richard asked, finally turning to face her, confusion on his face.

"I could have been in public, surrounded by mortals, when you conjured these," Paige said, allowing her anger to show through. "You could have exposed magic."

"So, mortals would have found out about magic," Richard said carelessly. "I don't see the harm in that."

"Richard, Piper nearly lost her son the last time magic was exposed!" Paige cried. "The time before that, Prue was killed."

"I thought you said Shax killed Prue," Richard said.

"Magic was exposed and Piper was fatally shot, so Phoebe made a deal with the Source to turn back time and erase the exposure," Paige explained, quietly. "Prue was killed after time reset itself."

She paused, visibly shaken, and continued after collecting herself.

"I will not let you put my sisters through that hell again," she said softly.

"It was just a dress!" Richard protested.

"And, with Wyatt, it was just a dragon," she replied.

"Would you give up your magic?" Richard asked.

"In case you haven't noticed," Paige said, "I drove here. I didn't orb. I haven't used magic in your presence since we started seeing each other."

"I can't give up fighting demons because that would destroy the Power of Three," she continued. "But if keeping you means giving up magic the rest of the time, then that's what I would do."

"I can't ask you to do that," Richard said.

"You just did," Paige told him. Just then, her phone rang, and she answered it, listening to the person on the other end for a moment.

"I've got to go," she said. "My sisters need me at home."

Turning, she walked out the door, Richard watching her as she went.

* * *

"Wait," Piper said, holding up a hand to forestall any comments. "Why is Chris your master?"

"Because he picked up my bottle," Phoebe explained.

"Only so that Jinni didn't get it!" Chris protested.

"You still picked it up," Phoebe told him, clearly miserable. "I guess this is how this thing works."

Wandering over to the full-length mirror, she eyed herself critically.

"Why am I always the one going blonde?" she complained.

"You know, I remember when you actually liked having blonde hair," Piper spoke up.

"That is not the point," Phoebe griped.

"People!" Chris yelled. Seeing that he had their attention, he quieted.

"Can we focus on how to free Phoebe?" he asked. "Obviously, we can't wish her free, or one of us is going to wind up a genie."

"You mean, you'll end up as a genie," Piper reminded him. "You are Phoebe's master, after all."

"Don't remind me," Chris muttered.

"What I want to know is," Phoebe muttered. "Why did wishing Jinni free turn me into a genie? That's not what happened three years ago."

"Well," Leo said, reentering the attic and picking up bottle from where Chris had placed it on the table, "according to this inscription, Jinni was an upper level demon who was threatening Bosk. He cursed her to become a genie, and cursed the bottle so that anyone who freed her would share her fate."

"What inscription?" Piper asked, peering at the bottle.

"This one," Leo said, pointing to a series of characters.

"That's in Arabic," Chris said dryly, peering over their shoulders. "None of us read Arabic."

"Well," Piper said, grabbing some items from the magical supplies trunk. "I'm going down to the kitchen to charge these crystals, to use as a cage, and I'm going to call Paige. We're going to need her help."

"Have fun," Phoebe said, distractedly, still eying herself in the mirror.

"What are you doing?" Chris asked, looking curiously at Leo.

"I'm writing you a letter," Leo said, from where he was sitting down at the table. "To try and apologize for my earlier behavior."

"That's not necessary," Chris said, flushing with embarrassment. "Trust me, I don't need a letter."

"Well, I made a mistake, so it's only right that I make amends," Leo said, crumpling one piece of paper and starting on another.

"Letters aren't going to mean a lot to me," Chris said. "I got too many when I was growing up."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Leo asked, concern written on his face.

"My dad wasn't really around when I was a kid, and he thought a bunch of letters was going to make up for it," Chris said. "Needless to say, it didn't."

"I'm sorry," Leo said, sincerely. "But this will be different, I promise. I just need to get the wording right."

"I wish you would just stop that!" Chris exploded, as Leo turned back to his letter writing.

Unable to stop herself, Phoebe nodded, granting his wish. Leo immediately dropped his pencil and walked toward the attic door.

"I'm going to go help Piper," he said.

Phoebe watched him go, and then rounded on her nephew.

"Did you mean to do that?" she demanded.

"No!" Chris said, defensively, holding his hands up in a warding gesture.

"I believe you," Phoebe said, studying him for a moment. "Let's go downstairs and help Piper and Leo."

Downstairs, they found them both in the living room, with Piper busily writing something.

"What's that?" Phoebe asked.

"I'm writing a vanquishing spell to use on Jinni," Piper informed her.

"The wording's wrong," Phoebe said airily, reading what her sister had written. "Jinni's an upper level demon, remember."

"I know," Piper said, tightly.

"And you should include something to compensate for all the time she spent as a genie," Phoebe continued, oblivious to Piper's annoyance.

"Chris?" Piper called. When he poked his head out of the kitchen, she continued. "Can you do something with Phoebe?"

"Gladly," Chris said, gesturing for Phoebe to join him. She walked into the kitchen, grumpily, and glared at him.

"I'm not at your beck and call, you know," she grumbled.

"I've been thinking," Chris said, ignoring her. "I think I found the perfect way to get my parents together so that I can be conceived."

"What?" Phoebe asked, confused, before realization slowly dawned.

"Oh, no," she said, angrily. "I am not making your parents have sex. That's sneaky, and wrong, and I won't do it."

"I'm sorry, Phoebe," Chris said. "But I'm running out of time, and I'm desperate. I don't have another choice."

"I will not-" Phoebe began, heatedly.

"I wish for Piper and Leo to sleep together," Chris said loudly, overriding her protests.

Phoebe glared, but nodded, granting his wish. A heartbeat passed, and two loud thumps could be heard from the living room. Chris glared suspiciously at Phoebe, and ran into the living room. Piper and Leo were lying in the middle of the room, fast asleep.

"What did you do?" Chris demanded.

"You wanted them to sleep together," Phoebe said innocently. "Well, they're sleeping together."

"That is not what I meant, and you know it," Chris told her. "Now, do as I told you."

"No," Phoebe said flatly, spinning on her heel and stalking back into the kitchen. "I will not use magic to make your parents have sex."

Chris glared at her back before turning to Piper and Leo. Concentrating, he telekinetically lifted them from the floor and moved them to the couch. He covered them with a blanket before following his aunt into the kitchen.

"If I don't do something, I'm not going to get conceived," he protested. "Is that what you want?"

"Of course not," Phoebe said, "but you said that you have three weeks. I'm sure we'll find another way."

"What if we don't?" Chris asked, softly.

Phoebe was about to reply when the front door slammed.

* * *

"Okay, what happened to Piper and Leo?" Paige asked, walking into the kitchen.

"You're back from Richard's awfully early," Chris remarked.

"That's not answering my question," Paige told him. "Why are Piper and Leo asleep on the living room couch? Especially with everything that we have going on right now?"

Joining them, Phoebe shot Chris a venomous look.

"_He_ wished for Piper and Leo to sleep together," she said icily, clearly in a snit. "Like I was really going to grant _that_."

Wordlessly, Chris pulled the top off of Phoebe's bottle and watched impassively as she was sucked inside in a cloud of mist. Then, he turned to face Paige, who had an unreadable expression on her face.

"Are you going to yell at me, too?" he asked quietly.

"About that?" Paige asked, gesturing to the bottle where Phoebe was imprisoned. "No, because I've wanted to do something like that for years, now."

"No," Chris said, "I meant, are you going to yell at me for what I did to Piper and Leo?"

"No," Paige said, shaking her head for emphasis. "I've known you long enough to know that you don't do things without having a good reason for doing them. Even something like this. So, I'm just going to ask for an explanation."

"I'm not sure you'd believe it," Chris hedged hesitantly.

"A year ago, you couldn't have convinced me that Piper and Leo's child was going to grow up to be the future of all evil, yet I believe it now," Paige told him. "So, I promise that even if I don't believe what you're saying right away, I'll at least spend a lot of time considering its validity."

"Thank you," Chris said. Taking a deep, steadying breath, he continued.

"I'm not just some random witch-Whitelighter from the future," he said. "Piper and Leo are my parents and Wyatt is my older brother. I wished for Piper and Leo to sleep together because if they don't have sex, I won't be conceived. I'll cease to exist."

"Oh my God," Paige gasped, shocked by what she'd just heard. "Is this what you've been hiding from us?"

Chris nodded, clearly miserable. "I've got three weeks," he said wearily. "If Mom and Dad don't screw by Wyatt's first birthday, then I'm screwed."

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Paige asked him gently. "Phoebe and I-"

Breaking off, she studied the bottle that Chris clutched nervously with a sweaty hand.

"I could have helped you," she amended.

"I kinda forgot," Chris admitted, looking down at the floor. "Besides, I wouldn't have known what to say."

"You could have said, 'Hi, Aunt Paige. Guess who?'" Paige teased him. Chris laughed quietly.

"So, three weeks," Paige mused. At Chris' nod, she continued.

"Okay, we'll figure out a way to un-genie Phoebe, and put the former genie back into her bottle. Then, I will help you hook up your parents. Even if I have to dose them with a love potion to do it."

"Thanks, Aunt Paige," Chris said.

"You know," Paige continued, "I'm surprised that no one ever noticed it before, what with how much you look like Piper."

"Yeah, people are always saying that I look just like Mom," Chris said, as he and Paige began working on a potion to contain Jinni long enough to put her back in her bottle.

"You've got Leo's eyes, though," Paige remarked.

"I don't want to talk about that," Chris said.

"Right," Paige said. "I forgot that you hate Leo. Why is that, by the way?"

"I shouldn't-" Chris began, but Paige cut him off abruptly.

"What happened to being honest, huh?" she asked. "Besides, if you tell me what happened, maybe I can smack some sense into your father's thick head for what he's going to do in the future."

"He was never there," Chris said softly, staring morosely at the countertop. "Neither of them were, really."

"He and Mom were always so busy with Wyatt, that they never had time for me. It was always Wyatt this and Wyatt that. Wyatt was twice blessed, and Wyatt could heal, and Wyatt was going to inherit Excalibur and do all these great magical things. Most of the time, I felt like an afterthought."

Pausing, Chris swiped at the tears rapidly pooling in his eyes.

"They could never really find the time to go to one of my swim meets or plays," he continued, his voice choking slightly with emotion, "but they'd drop everything in a heartbeat to go to one of Wyatt's football games."

"Oh, Chris," Paige said, tears of her own welling up. "I am so sorry, angel."

"It wasn't all bad, though," he continued, smiling at Paige's beloved nickname for him.

"You were at every one of my events, no matter what. Sometimes, it seemed as though you were my real mom. You certainly acted more like one than my mom ever did."

"Well, I'm sure I loved, or will love, having a surrogate son." Paige told him.

"I certainly liked having a surrogate mom," Chris told her. "Actually, when I was younger, I used to wish that you were my real mom, because I never had to fight Wyatt for your attention."

Paige hugged him briefly, before stepping back and looking at her nephew. "I would be honored to be your mom," she told him. "But, I am going to get your parents to change their ways if it kills me."

"It might," Chris mused. "They're both pretty stubborn."

* * *

Deep in the recesses of her bottle, Phoebe could hear Chris and Paige's muffled voices.

_'What are they talking about?'_ she wondered. _'I hope they're not talking about me.'_

Unable to make out any specific words, Phoebe sat back and listened to the drone of their voices, dozing off as she did so. Then she was snapped awake as she clearly heard the word wish, said by Chris. Unable to stop herself, Phoebe gestured, granting his wish.

_'I hope whatever it was, it was worth it,'_ she thought, _'because that was his last wish. I only hope he didn't use it carelessly.'_

* * *

Time seemed to stop as Chris' wish was granted. Both he and Paige glowed brightly for a few seconds, before the glow receded into their bodies.

"What were we just talking about?" Paige asked, shaking her head slightly to clear away the muggy feeling.

"How to get my parents together, I think," Chris said slowly. "And apparently the containment potion for Jinni."

"Any idea what step we were on with the potion?" Paige asked, "Because we'll have to start over from scratch if we can't remember that one."

"I think you were about to add the burdock root," Chris told her, pointing to the cutting board covered in small slices.

"Right," Paige said, adding the root. "You going to let Phoebe out of the bottle any time soon?"

"Now that the kitchen is finally quiet?" Chris asked, a teasing grin lighting up his face.

"While I'm inclined to agree with you, you can't just leave her in there forever," Paige told him.

"I'll take her out right before we need to put Jinni back in her bottle," he said. "Besides, she's safer in there for the time being."

"Yeah, that's it," Paige said chuckling.

"You don't agree?" Chris asked innocently.

Paige was about to answer when there was a knock at the front door.

"I'll get that," Chris volunteered. Opening the door, he found Richard standing on the front step.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Is Paige here?" Richard asked, peering around Chris' shoulder. "We parted on bad terms, earlier, and I wanted to apologize."

"She's in the kitchen," Chris said, standing aside so Richard could enter. "What did you two fight about, anyway?"

"Magic," Richard said. "What else?" Stopping in the kitchen doorway, he smiled hesitantly. "Hi."

"Richard," Paige said, looking up in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Can we talk?" he asked, rather than answering.

"I can finish the potion," Chris offered, catching Paige's glance at the simmering pot on the stovetop. "You two should go work things out."

"Let's talk in here," Paige said, leading the way to the conservatory. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Us," Richard said. "I don't want to lose what we have, Paige."

"Neither do I," Paige protested. "But you said yourself that the last time you used magic, you lost control. I don't think I could watch you go down that path, particularly not after seeing everything Phoebe went through when Cole was evil."

"Paige, I would never hurt you," Richard said quietly.

"I know you wouldn't," she replied, just as softly. "Not intentionally, anyway. But what happens if the past repeats itself and you become a danger to me or my family?"

Richard was about to reply when a crash sounded from the other room.

"Chris?" Paige called, already running into the living room, Richard following behind.

"I'm okay," Chris said, coming in from the kitchen. "I didn't do it."

"I did," a new voice said. All three looked up to see Jinni standing over Piper and Leo, a fireball in her hand.

"If you don't want me to kill them, you'll do exactly as I say," Jinni told them.

"What do you want?" Paige asked, eyeing the fireball warily. She wanted to try orbing it, but she wasn't sure that she could summon it before Jinni killed Piper and Leo.

"I want the genie," Jinni said. "Bring me the bottle."

Chris made as though to go into the kitchen, but Jinni stopped him with a raised finger.

"Ah, ah," she scolded. "Do you really think I'd let you leave, and have the opportunity to get a vanquishing potion? You," she said, focusing on Paige. "Summon the bottle."

"Bottle," Paige said clearly, holding out her hand. Phoebe's bottle formed in her hand and she gripped the neck to keep from dropping it.

"Now what?" she asked.

"Now he," Jinni said, nodding at Chris, "will use his powers to give me the bottle. No tricks, now," she warned.

"No tricks," Chris agreed, reluctantly.

Extending his hand, he waved and the bottle floated from Paige's hand through the air to Jinni. But halfway there, the bottle shimmered out of existence and into the palm of Richard's hand. As Paige and Chris gaped at him in panic, he dematerialized, disappearing into thin air.

"What happened?" Jinni demanded, furious.

Taking advantage of the demon's distraction, Paige focused on the contents of the magical supplies trunk up in the attic.

"Crystals, circle!" she snapped, gesturing in Jinni's direction. The crystal cage formed around Jinni, and the demon threw the fireball, only to have it rebound in her face.

"That should hold her for a little while at least," Paige muttered. Turning to Chris, she asked, "Can you watch her while I go get Phoebe back?"

"Yeah," Chris said, looking worriedly at the couch where Piper and Leo lay.

"Hey," Paige said softly, touching his shoulder. "They're okay. She didn't hurt them."

"I know," Chris sighed. "Be careful with Richard, okay? He's dangerous right now."

"I will be," Paige promised, orbing out. Chris sighed again and settled down on the armchair, keeping an eye on both the demon and the sleeping couple on the couch.

* * *

Inside her bottle, Phoebe ran from side to side, hoping to tip the bottle over and free herself. Unfortunately, the bottle did little more than rock on the surface it was resting on. Phoebe's efforts became more frantic as she recalled the panic and fear in Chris and Paige's voices.

_'I can't believe I'm stuck in here when my family needs me,'_ she thought angrily.

Redoubling her efforts, she picked up speed and finally the bottle fell over, releasing Phoebe in a swirl of mist. Shaking her head to clear her vision, the first person Phoebe saw was Richard.

"Richard," she said, surprised. "What are we doing here? For that matter, where are we?"

"We're in my home," Richard replied. "In my family's vault."

"Why didn't you let me out?" Phoebe asked, still confused.

"I didn't let you out because I wasn't ready for you, yet," Richard said, leafing distractedly through a stack of papers. "Damn it, where's that book?"

"Book?" Phoebe perked, nervously. "What book?"

"A book of wishes," Richard explained. "I know how tricky you genies are, and I don't want to mess anything up."

"First of all, I'm not a genie, I'm a witch," Phoebe fumed. "And second, what do you mean, mess anything up? Mess what up?"

"My wish," Richard said simply. "There it is."

Easing a thin, battered book out of a stack of papers, he began leafing through the pages, clearly looking for something. Phoebe could do nothing except watch nervously and wait. After a few moments, Richard snapped the book shut and grinned.

"Got it," he said triumphantly. "I wish-"

"Richard!"

Startled, Richard broke off mid-sentence to see Paige storming toward him, a look of pure fury on her face.

"Paige," he began, but one look at Paige's expression stopped him cold.

"What the _hell_ where you thinking?" she yelled. "You could have gotten Piper and Leo killed back there!"

"I just wanted to prove to you that I could stay in control of my magic," Richard protested.

"Well, this was sort of the wrong way to go about it, don't you think?" Paige snapped. Focusing on Phoebe for the first time, she asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Phoebe replied. "What's this about Piper and Leo almost being killed?"

"One thing at a time," Paige sighed. "Richard-"

"I can control my magic," Richard protested. "I'll prove it to you."

"No," Paige snapped, losing the tenuous grip she had on her temper. "No spells and no wishes. No magic."

"This is good, I promise," Richard told her earnestly.

"Richard, you're not listening," Paige said, reaching to take the book out of his hands.

"No!" Richard yelled. He instinctively flung his hand at Paige and sent her flying across the room, to crash against the far wall.

"Paige!" Phoebe cried, running to her sister's side.

"Ow," Paige muttered, easing herself up off the floor with Phoebe's help.

"Are you okay?" Richard asked, hovering nervously nearby.

"I'm fine, except for the ringing in my ears," Paige replied. "And the room is going around in circles."

"I am so sorry," Richard said. "Let me make it up to you."

Before Paige could stop him, he turned to Phoebe and said, "Phoebe, I wish you free."

Phoebe gasped in shock as the genie's magic left her body, only to enter Richard's. He was obscured by the glow of the magic for a moment, and when he was unveiled, he was wearing a charcoal gray tunic and pants.

"What just happened?" he asked, looking at himself nervously.

"You're a genie," Paige snapped. "And it's something that could have been prevented if you'd only listened to us."

"Wishing Phoebe free turned me into a genie?" Richard asked, still puzzled.

"Yeah," Paige gritted, still in pain. "Now, do you see what I was talking about, your desire for magic controlling you?"

* * *

Checking his watch for the third time in the last five minutes, Chris heaved a sigh of exasperation. Paige had only just left to find Phoebe and Richard, yet it seemed like forever.

_'Of course,'_ he reflected, _'it could have something to do with the fact that my only company is a demon, my unconscious parents, and my baby older brother.'_

Before his pity party could go any further, however, the doorbell rang. Opening the door, Chris was greeted by the one person he wanted least to see.

"Greg," he said grimly.

"I have a break between my shifts," the fireman explained. "Is Piper here?"

"Nope," Chris said, going to shut the door. "Sorry, she's out."

"Why don't I believe you?" Greg asked, suspiciously, pushing his way through the doorway.

"Come right in, why don't you?" Chris muttered sarcastically, shutting the door.

"Where's Piper?" Greg demanded.

"In the living room," Chris said, following Greg as he stormed into the room, stopping dead at what he saw.

"Guess she wasn't as involved in your relationship as you thought," Chris remarked idly, as Greg took in Piper sleeping with Leo.

A telekinetic gesture from Chris dropped Piper's head onto Leo's chest and wrapped Leo's arm around Piper's shoulders.

"You should go now," Chris said, leading the way back to the door. "Do you want me to have Piper call you?"

"No, that's okay," Greg said, distractedly. "In fact, don't mention that I stopped by at all."

"Can do," Chris said, slamming the door in his face.

A satisfied smirk on his face, he walked back to the living room and was greeted by the sight on Jinni, free of the crystal cage and once again threatening his parents. A quick look at the crystal cage revealed how Jinni had gotten free, as the tattered remains of the flying carpet lay on the floor.

"Don't hurt them," he said automatically, feeling himself go cold inside at the sight of his parents in danger once again.

"Take me to the genie," Jinni commanded.

"Fine," Chris said. "Just don't hurt them."

Walking cautiously over to Jinni, he grabbed her arm and orbed them both to the Montana mansion. When they landed, Jinni immediately shook her arm out of his grip and shuddered.

"That's such a disgusting way to travel," she griped.

"Chris, what's going on?" Paige asked, from behind them. Chris turned to see her, along with a normal-looking Phoebe.

"I didn't have a choice," Chris said, the look in his eyes pleading with her to understand. "She was going to kill Mom and Dad."

"I still am," Jinni said, surprising them. To everyone's horror, she now held the genie's bottle in her hand.

"How did she get the bottle?" Phoebe hissed, panicked.

"I don't know, but she's not going to have it for very much longer," Paige said, determination lighting up her features.

Thrusting out her hand, she called "Bottle!"

At the same time, Jinni said, "Genie, I wish the Charmed Ones dead!"

Chris watched in horror as Paige and Phoebe's bodies fell lifelessly to the floor, their spirits floating toward the ceiling. Simultaneously, the bottle orbed out of Jinni's hand and landed on the floor next to Paige's body.

Chris lunged for the bottle, but Jinni beat him to it. Grinning cruelly, she held the bottle aloft as she shimmered out.

"Enjoy what little is left of your life," she said mockingly as she disappeared.

It was then that Chris felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his chest.

* * *

In the Manor, Piper and Leo were dead to the world when Piper really did die. She looked around in confusion as her spirit began to float off to the afterlife.

"What's going on?" she wondered. Then, she looked down and gasped in shock.

"Oh no," she breathed.

"Leo!" she called, frightened now. "Leo, wake up! I need you!"

Murmuring quietly in his sleep, Leo's hand dropped over Piper's heart and glowed softly as he healed her. Piper's spirit dropped back into her body and she dropped back into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

"We stopped moving on," Phoebe commented, looking around. "We must be ghosts."

"Brilliant observation, Sherlock," Paige said sarcastically.

"You don't have to be mean about it," Phoebe pouted.

"Well, I tend to get testy when I die," Paige said. "And, you know, this all your fault for answering that damn letter in the first place, so just deal with it."

Turning to Chris, who was standing up slowly, she asked, "Not that I was in any hurry to die, mind you, but why aren't we moving on?"

"Well, I could feel Mom dying," Chris said slowly, pondering his answer, "and then the feeling stopped. Maybe, since she didn't die, and the wish was for all the Charmed Ones to die, you were saved as well."

"Did you understand that?" Phoebe asked Paige.

"We don't die until Piper does," Paige summarized shortly. "Now, how do you propose we stop Jinni? Assuming, of course, that we can even find her."

"She's probably resurrecting Sanbar," Phoebe said. "It's what she said Bosk would do, anyway."

"Any idea where Sanbar is?" Paige asked.

"Probably in the same place that we first found Jinni," Chris mused. "At that dig site in Egypt."

"Okay, so you can orb, but how are we supposed to get there?" Phoebe asked, gesturing at herself and Paige.

"You're ghosts," Chris explained. "Just concentrate and haunt her."

"And then one of us can possess her and force her to reverse the wishes and go back into the bottle," Paige said, catching on.

Focusing, she disappeared quickly, with Phoebe following a heartbeat behind.

"Hey!" Chris yelled. "Wait for me!"

Orbing to the dig site, he arrived in time to hear Jinni declare, "I wish for the lost city of Sanbar!"

"Oh, shit," Paige said from beside him, echoing his feelings. Hearing them, Jinni turned, smiling in triumph.

"Kill them," she ordered her demons, who advanced menacingly.

"Where's Phoebe?" Chris asked, backing up slowly. He tried using his powers, but Jinni seemed to have somehow shielded her demons from good magic.

"Just wait," Paige assured him. Chris shot her a dubious look as the demons kept coming, the ones in the lead readying fireballs.

"Any time now, Pheebs," Paige called, now also looking nervous. In response, the lead demons flamed out, screaming, as Jinni launched fireballs into their backs.

"Sorry it took so long," Phoebe said, disposing of the rest of the demons with Jinni's powers. "She's stubborn; wouldn't let me take control of her body."

"Hurry, before you lose control," Chris said urgently, handing her the bottle.

Phoebe nodded and said clearly, "Richard, I wish you free!"

Jumping out of Jinni's body as the genie's magic overtook it once again, she watched as Jinni was sucked into the bottle and Richard was dumped out on the sand.

"Hi, honey," Paige said, wryly, smiling at him.

"Sorry about that," Richard muttered, having the decency to look sheepish. Grabbing the bottle where it had fallen, he ordered, "Genie, I wish the Charmed Ones alive again!"

Jinni nodded resentfully, granting the wish, and Paige and Phoebe's spirits were whisked back to their fallen bodies. Richard heaved a sigh of relief and passed the bottle to Chris, who came up beside him.

"Take this," he said, his voice shaking slightly. "I don't want anything to do with magic ever again."

"Sure," Chris replied. "But do you think you could do something about that, first?" he asked, nodding in the direction of Sanbar.

Richard nodded and reluctantly took the bottle back from him.

* * *

In the Montana mansion, Paige sat on the edge of the couch waiting for Richard. A few seconds later, he emerged from the kitchen, holding a small vial.

"What is that?" she asked, nodding at the vial.

"It was a power stripping potion," Richard said. Removing the stopper, he held the bottle upside down. "I'm officially powerless."

"You've stripped your powers?" Paige asked.

"It wasn't a hard decision to make, not when I realized that keeping my powers meant hurting those I cared about," he said. "Especially you. It's also why I decided that we should split up."

"What?" Paige gasped, feeling the pain of his words in the core of her being.

"Paige, I'm a danger to you and your family," Richard explained. "I proved that tonight when I almost got Piper and Leo killed."

"That was an accident," Paige said softly. "And you just said that you don't have powers anymore."

"That doesn't matter," Richard said. "I can't take the chance of ever hurting you, Paige. I care about you too much."

"There has to be some way to work through this," Paige pleaded, tears filling her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Richard said. "This is best for everyone; trust me." Pausing, he looked away as he collected himself, then focused on Paige.

"You should go now," he said firmly.

Paige nodded wordlessly, afraid to say anything for fear of what she might do. Walking to the door, she made it out to her car without breaking down. Then, once she was safely inside, she dropped her head into her hands and gave into the grief that was tearing at her heart.

* * *

"Arabic sleeping spell?" Piper asked, disbelief lacing her voice.

"Yeah," Phoebe lied, trying to keep a straight face. "Jinni put you under a sleeping spell and we figured you'd both be safer here, away from any danger."

"Except for Jinni threatening our lives twice," Piper observed dryly.

"Well, that was unexpected," Phoebe admitted.

"The first time, maybe," Leo muttered. Piper elbowed him sharply.

"What I don't get is why Jinni's wish failed," Chris interjected.

"I thought we agreed that it was because Piper didn't die," Phoebe reminded him.

"Yeah, but why didn't she?" Chris asked.

"Well, while I was asleep I dreamed that I was floating and I called out to you," Piper said, looking at Leo. "And then you healed me."

"Apparently it wasn't a dream," Phoebe remarked. "Maybe that's a sign that the two of you are meant to be together."

"Maybe," Piper mused, looking at Leo speculatively. "Do you want to come upstairs with me to say goodnight to Wyatt?"

"Of course I do," Leo replied, walking with her toward the staircase.

Chris watched them go, a look of longing etched on his face.

"What about me?" he whispered, dejectedly.

"Don't worry," Phoebe said fondly, surprising him. "I think we've proved that there's hope for you yet."


	3. The Courtship of Chris's Father

**Chapter Three: The Courtship of Chris' Father**

"That was a wonderful party, Piper."

Piper smiled at the compliment. "Thanks, Wendy. I'm so glad you and Susan could make it."

Wendy smiled fondly at her two-year-old daughter. "We wouldn't have missed it for anything," she replied. "Thanks for having us. Say thank you, Sue."

"Thank you, Pwiper," Susan said, eliciting a small from both women.

"So," Wendy continued, conversationally, "now that Wyatt's reached his first birthday, are you and Leo thinking about having any other kids?"

"Well, Leo and I are sort of divorced," Piper hedged.

"That's like being sort of obsessed with chocolate," Wendy teased.

"We're working things out," Piper said.

"Personally," Wendy said conspiratorially, "I think you and Leo are a fantastic couple."

"Yeah, a lot of people keep saying that," Piper admitted.

"I've got to get going," Wendy said, glancing quickly at her watch. "I'll call you to arrange the next play date."

"Sure," Piper said, waving her out the door. "You know," she remarked, as the last of the guests trailed out the door, "I can hardly believe that it's Wyatt's first birthday, already."

"I know," Leo said. "It seems like just yesterday that he was born."

"Seems like just yesterday that we were still married," Piper murmured.

"What?" Leo asked, glancing over at her.

"Nothing," Piper said quickly, shaking her head. "Love your hair, Paige," she added as her younger sister walked into the room.

Paige grinned and shook her head, sending her dark brown tresses flying around her face.

"I woke up this morning to find that the potion had finally worn off," she explained, referring to the potion accident that had turned her into a redhead in the first place.

"I'm glad, actually," she continued. "I kind of missed my brown hair."

"Still, it kept your hair red for over a year," Piper said. "You should write that one up in the Book."

"I already did when it first happened," Paige retorted. "So, did Wyatt like his first birthday party?"

"He had a blast," Piper told her. "I only had to freeze the room once. He loved your present, by the way."

"Well, I figured he could use a new teddy bear, considering his last one got impaled by Mordaunt," Paige said.

"He would have liked it even more if you could have seen him open it," Piper continued, trying to guilt Paige. "I can't believe you had to go to work on Wyatt's birthday."

"It wasn't work, exactly," Paige admitted. "It was a job interview."

"Job interview?" Piper asked. "Where?"

"South Bay Social Services," Paige said. "Starting tomorrow, I'm going to be a social worker again."

"Paige, that's wonderful!" Piper enthused. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"I didn't want to jinx it," Paige replied. Grabbing a tray off the table, she added, "I'd better get this into the kitchen before it spoils."

* * *

"Are they in an amorous mood, yet?" Chris asked as she walked into the kitchen.

"Not so loud," Paige hissed, shoving him away from the doorway. "Do you want your parents to know that we're trying to get them to sleep together?"

"Call me crazy," Phoebe said, from her spot at the island, "but why don't we just tell Piper and Leo the truth?"

"Two words, Phoebes," Paige said. "Performance. Anxiety."

"So what do you propose we do, if simple hinting and aphrodisiacs don't do the trick?"

"Love potion," Paige said, grabbing a small vial from the refrigerator. "Or maybe it would be more accurate to call this a lust potion."

She dangled the potion, and the lavender liquid sparkled as it caught the light.

"And that thing does what, exactly?" Phoebe asked, staring dubiously at the vial.

"It'll make Piper and Leo unable to focus on anything but each other for the duration of the potion," Paige explained. "Which should be about an hour."

"There's also a few ingredients in there so that Piper is sure to get pregnant, and not just enjoy herself," she continued.

"Eww!" Chris exclaimed. Paige shot him an amused look.

"You were willing to wish for your parents to sleep together but you can't think about them having sex?" she asked.

"No," Chris said, grimacing. "It just seems wrong, somehow."

"So, you're sure that thing's going to work?" Phoebe asked, again talking about the potion.

"Positive," Paige replied confidently. "Piper and Leo won't be able to keep their hands off each other."

Chris shuddered dramatically and Paige laughed softly.

"We can stop talking about it if you want," she said, taking pity on him. "Why'd Piper have to freeze the party?"

"Oh, Wyatt got so excited that he started orbing his presents," Phoebe explained. "Piper and Leo are certainly going to have their hands full teaching him how to properly use his magic."

"Well, they'd best start soon," Paige said. "Wyatt seems like the type to have a stubborn streak."

"Just like Piper at that age," Phoebe said, chuckling.

Suddenly, they heard a crash from the living room.

"Paige!" Piper screamed. "Phoebe! Get in here!"

The three of them ran into the room in time to see a Darklighter's arrow come flying at them. Phoebe shoved Chris to the floor, out of harm's way, and Paige backpedaled furiously even as she orbed the arrow back in the Darklighter's direction. The Darklighter grunted softly in pain as the arrow buried itself in his arm and black-orbed away.

"What the hell was that about?" Phoebe exclaimed.

"Never mind that," Paige said, helping Chris up off the floor. "Which one of us was he after?"

"Wyatt," Piper said, a note of dread creeping into her voice. "He was after Wyatt."

* * *

The Darklighter orbed into a cavern in the Underworld, his hand clamped around his profusely bleeding arm. He peered cautiously into the shadows for any sign of the demon he served, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw no one.

"I wouldn't relax just yet, if I were you, Kerr" a voice said quietly. Kerr jumped and stared guardedly at the demon approaching him.

"I see you didn't accomplish what I sent you to do," the demon continued, surveying him. "And you let the witches wound you. I am not happy about this."

"You promised that I would only be dealing with two of the Charmed Ones," Kerr growled, grimacing in pain. "All three of them were there."

"An unforeseen complication," the demon said, brushing it lightly aside. "You'll be more prepared next time."

"There won't be a next time," Kerr protested. "I told you, it's suicide facing all three Charmed Ones, and I won't do it again."

"You will," the demon said, "because I need that boy. I need the power he possesses. And you're the only one in the underworld who possesses the rather unique ability to move freely between the realms of existence."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Kerr asked suspiciously.

"How do you think I plan on getting the boy's protectors out of the way?" the demon asked. "When you next attack, you will send them into one of the other realms, I care not which one, and I will be free to go after the boy."

"Just out of curiosity," Kerr asked. "If I do this for you, and I succeed…"

"I don't care what you do with the boy's protectors, so long as they are not in my way," the demon interrupted briskly. "You can kill them for all I care."

"That's all I needed to hear," Kerr said, a grin splitting his face.

* * *

"Could this Darklighter be the demon that's after Wyatt?" Piper asked Chris, looking worriedly at her little boy playing with his birthday presents, seemingly oblivious to the chaos around him.

"It could be," Chris said. "Are you sure it was Wyatt he was after?"

"His crossbow was aimed straight at Wyatt," Piper said. "Who else could it be?"

"Maybe someone's after Leo, and they know that the best way to get to him is to go through Wyatt," Phoebe said quietly.

"An Elder would be an appealing target for any Darklighter trying to make a name for himself," Chris said. "It wouldn't take too much in the way of research to find out about Leo's family."

As the family in question digested this new bit of information, Paige came downstairs, the Book of Shadows open in her arms.

"I think I found the Darklighter," she said. "He's a Tracker, like the one that went after Sam."

"Great," Piper grumbled. "Guess that leaves out my powers."

"What?" Chris asked.

"The last time we faced a Tracker," Paige explained, "Piper was only able to blow off his arm."

"How did you vanquish him?" Chris asked.

"We didn't," Phoebe muttered darkly. "He was killed by the demon who hired him to kill Leo and Paige."

"So, how do we vanquish him?" Chris asked.

"I can make up some general purpose vanquishing potions, if one of you wants to scry for the Darklighter," Paige said.

"Then, we'll go after him and teach the rest of the Underworld why they need to leave my family alone," Piper said, a satisfied note in her voice.

"Sounds like a plan," Phoebe said. "I'll get the map and a crystal."

"Chris, you want to help me with the potion?" Paige asked, jerking her head toward the kitchen.

"I take it you wanted to talk," Chris said, in an undertone, once they were in the kitchen.

"Not really," Paige said, softly, cutting up a burdock root. "I just wanted to give Piper and Leo some time together."

"I'm hoping this," she continued, waving the love potion vial, "will only be a last resort."

Chris nodded in understanding, and joined her in making the potions. They worked in companionable silence for several minutes, as though they'd been working together for years.

"You're good at this," Paige remarked, conversationally, as she put a stopper in the last vial.

"I like to think I learned from the best," Chris said. At Paige's curious look, he elaborated.

"I learned from you," he said, simply.

"When did I become Super Witch?" Paige asked, laughing.

"You spent a lot of time teaching me and Wyatt about our heritage," Chris said. "You said someone had to, since Mom was always on her normal life kick."

"Nice to know I'm such an inspiration in the future," Paige said.

"And now," Chris told her.

Just then, Piper poked her head into the kitchen.

"You guys done yet?" she asked. "Phoebe found the Darklighter and we're ready to go."

"We're done," Paige said, handing Piper a handful of vials. "Give these to Phoebe, will you?"

"Are you coming?" Paige asked Chris, as they walked out of the kitchen.

"No, I'll stay here and keep an eye on Wyatt," Chris said. "That way, Leo can go with you."

Leo nodded, gratefully, and accepted the vial Piper gave him.

"Be careful," Chris said. As he handed his vials to Paige, he failed to notice the lavender one tucked in with the blue vanquishing potions.

"Let's go, people," Phoebe said from the door, dangling Piper's car keys in her hand.

Offering last good-byes to Chris and Wyatt, the sisters and Leo went out to the car, and drove to the alley where Phoebe had tracked the Darklighter.

"Why does this look familiar?" Piper wondered, as they climbed out of the car.

"Because this is where Wyatt orbed three weeks ago," Paige told her.

"Guys, there's our demon, now," Phoebe said, nodding at a nearby building. Piper and Paige looked up to see the Darklighter standing alone on the rooftop.

"Looks like we were expected," Paige said, quietly.

"Then let's go say hello," Piper said, striding forward briskly, her sisters hurrying to catch up.

As they reached the middle of the alley, the Darklighter orbed down to meet them.

"Miss me already?" he asked, mockingly.

"You attacked my son," Piper said quietly. "Did you honestly think I wasn't going to do anything about it?"

"Not at all," the Darklighter said, conversationally. "In fact, I was counting on it."

"You bastard," Phoebe breathed, horrified. "He's after Wyatt."

Paige grabbed one of the vials in her pocket and threw it viciously at the demon as Piper attempted to blow him up. The Darklighter simply rocked from the force of Piper's magic, and caught Paige's vial in his hand. Smiling cruelly, he eyed the vial for a second before throwing it back at Paige-and Leo who was standing behind her. He quickly followed through with an immense fireball.

Phoebe thought the lavender-colored potion looked familiar, but she was too busy watching as Paige and Leo desperately tried to dodge out of the way of the fireball to pay it any mind. But, it was too no avail.

Piper and Phoebe watched in horror as the fireball engulfed Paige and Leo, leaving nothing behind as it dissipated.

"Looks like my work here is done," the Darklighter sneered, before orbing away.

"Oh my God," Piper said. "I can't believe that Paige and Leo are…"

"Don't say it," Phoebe said quickly. "We don't know they're dead."

"Phoebe, we saw them get hit with a fireball," Piper cried, her attitude bordering on hysterical.

"And what about the time we thought we'd vanquished Prue?" Phoebe asked, rhetorically. "We shouldn't assume anything without seeing bodies."

"You're right," Piper said, calming down a bit. "Let's go home and get Chris' help."

"And hope he's still around," Phoebe muttered, too low for Piper to hear her.

* * *

"Where are we?" Paige asked groggily, sitting up. "Where did everyone go?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Leo asked, helping her to her feet.

"I remember the demon throwing a fireball at us, and our own vanquishing potion…"

Her voice trailed off in horror as she realized exactly which potion had hit them. Pulling her arm out of Leo's grasp, she moved a few feet away, hoping distance would lessen the effects she knew were likely to be coming.

_'I designed it to work after being ingested,'_ she thought frantically, remembering her plan to stick it in Piper and Leo's drinks. _'There's still a chance it's not going to do anything.'_

"What's wrong?" Leo asked, concerned.

"Nothing," Paige muttered, refusing to look Leo in the eye. "You never did answer my question," she continued.

"Which one?" Leo asked.

"Either," Paige told him. "I imagine the answers are related."

"Well, I can't be completely sure," Leo said, "but I think we're in the Corridor."

"What's the Corridor?" Paige asked, looking around.

"It's a Netherworld between life and death," Leo explained. "This is where souls go before they move on for good."

"Are you saying we're dead?" Paige asked.

"We're not dead," Leo assured her. "For one thing, fireballs can't kill Elders. Neither can vanquishing potions. And you don't have the aura of a soul."

"That's the proof you have that I'm not dead?" Paige asked, raising an eyebrow. "I don't have the aura of a soul?"

"It's the best I can come up with," Leo said, sheepishly.

"So why does this place look like the alleyway we were just in?" Paige asked.

"The Corridor appears differently for each soul that passes through it, looking like the place they died in."

"That's comforting," Paige remarked, sarcastically.

"That's the way the Heavens work," Leo told her.

"Do you sense that?" Paige asked, suddenly, growing somber as she looked around.

"What's up?" Leo asked, in an undertone.

"I don't think we're the only ones here," Paige said quietly.

"You could simply be sensing the other souls in the Corridor," Leo said.

"My sensing powers aren't working," Paige said. "None of my powers are, I already checked. No, this is more like an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach."

"Well, I've learned by now to trust your instincts," Leo said, "so let's get moving."

"Moving where, exactly?" Paige asked.

"Anywhere where we're not sitting ducks," Leo said.

They hurried off, and Kerr stepped out from behind a pile of boxes, fitting an arrow into his crossbow. He fired the arrow at Leo, but it missed him by about a foot. Leo and Paige whirled around, and then dove out of the way, in opposite directions, as Kerr let off another round.

"Run!" Paige yelled at Leo. "Get out of here, for your sons' sakes!"

"Not without you!" Leo yelled back, not noticing her slip-up. "You're not expendable."

"Damn it, Leo," Paige hissed under her breath. "You have got to be the most stubborn man I've ever met."

Without thinking, she darted across the alleyway, pausing only long enough to grab Leo's arm and drag him along with her. Kerr let off another volley of arrows, but thankfully they missed their marks. Paige dragged Leo through a doorway, into an abandoned building, and both waited, hoping desperately not to be detected, as they heard Kerr searching for them.

Finally, Leo let out the breath he'd been holding.

"I think he's gone," he said, softly.

"Then let's go," Paige said, just as quietly. Moving slowly, they crept out of the building and into the street.

* * *

"Chris?" Phoebe called, as she and Piper entered the Manor. "Chris, where are you?"

"Right here," Chris said quietly, emerging from the kitchen. He held a sleeping Wyatt safely in his arms.

"We've been walking around the house since you left," he explained. "I just got him to fall asleep."

"Give him here and I'll put him to bed," Piper said, moving slowly so as not to wake her son. "We need your help finding Paige and Leo."

"I was wondering what happened to them," Chris commented.

"That is what we would like to know," Phoebe told him. "We were attacked by the same Darklighter, and he did something to Paige and Leo."

"Did what?" Chris asked.

"We don't know," Phoebe said. "He threw a fireball at them, and they disappeared, but they can't be dead. Or, at least, Leo can't be dead or you wouldn't be here."

"What about Paige?" Chris asked, worry in his tone.

"I don't know," Phoebe replied. "I just don't know, and that scares me."

"She's got to be all right," Chris said. "If Leo survived, then she can, too. I'm sure of it."

"Sure of what?" Piper asked, joining them.

"I'm sure that Paige is alive," Chris told her. "Leo, too."

"How can you be so sure?" Piper asked.

"Future knowledge, and all that," Phoebe said, brightly. Piper shot her a suspicious look.

"Well, we're not going to find them sitting around here," she continued. "Let's hit the Book and see what turns up."

Watching her older sister walk away, Phoebe turned to Chris.

'We have to tell her," she hissed.

"What?" Chris practically yelped, remembering just in time the need for silence. "Why?"

"Because she deserves to know how we know that Leo's alive," Phoebe told him.

"And if we do tell her, we'll be admitting that we don't really know if Paige made it or not," Chris reminded her.

"Are you two coming?" Piper called from somewhere upstairs, interrupting their impromptu conversation.

"Let's go," Phoebe said, deciding, for now, to let the matter drop. Chris nodded, tired, and trailed behind her up to attic.

"What have we got?" Phoebe asked, seeing Piper flipping through the Book, frantically.

"Nothing, so far," Piper replied, distractedly.

"What are you looking for?" Chris asked.

"Darklighters, fireballs, portals, anything that can help us find Leo and Paige," Piper told him.

"Do you know anything that could help us?" Phoebe asked.

"I can't be sure," Chris said, hesitantly, "but I think I remember reading something in the Book of Shadows about a Darklighter with the ability to move between realms."

"Do you have a name for us?" Piper asked.

"Kith, or Kerr, or something like that," Chris told them. "It was just a footnote; there wasn't much there."

"Footnote or not, it's the best we've got, so far," Phoebe told him. "Think you can find it again?"

"I can try," Chris said, stepping up to the pedestal that held the Book.

He reached out to turn the page, but was stopped short when his hand when straight through it. Staring at his hand in surprise, he realized that he could see through his hand.

"What's going on?" Piper demanded.

Chris exchanged an uneasy look with Phoebe.

"I think I'm ceasing to exist," he said, softly.

* * *

"We're in mortal danger and we immediately head to the attic," Paige quipped, looking around the room. "The only problem with the plan, is, I don't see the Book."

"It's a sacred object," Leo explained. "It would never allow itself to be duplicated in a transitional plane of existence."

"Allow itself? So, you're saying the Book has a mind of its own?" Paige asked.

"Basically, yes," Leo admitted.

"And no one could bother telling me this when I first became a witch?" Paige asked, scolding him.

"It just didn't seem relevant," Leo told her.

"You have a pretty warped definition of relevant," Paige teased him. Then, she mentally and physically pulled away from him, walking to the other side of the attic.

_'You're getting far too comfortable with him, Matthews,'_ she scolded herself, furiously. _'Remember that potion. Remember that he's Piper's husband.'_

_'Ex-husband,'_ a traitorous voice in the back of her mind piped up. Paige did her best to ignore it, focusing instead on the task at hand.

"So," she said, forcing a nonchalance she didn't feel, "what are we going to do?"

"I don't really know," Leo admitted.

"You really are turning into an Elder," Paige muttered.

"What was that?" Leo asked, suspiciously.

"Nothing," Paige said, quickly. "Wait, we're spirits, aren't we? Or, at least, we're trapped on a spiritual plane," she amended, seeing Leo about to protest.

"Yes," he said, slowly. "What are you thinking?"

"That I can haunt Piper and Phoebe, and tell them where we are, so that they can find a way to get us out of here," she told him.

"Paige, haunting takes a lot of practice," Leo protested. "Most ghosts dead for decades can't do it. Besides, you need a strong emotional connection to the person you're trying to haunt."

"Like a sisterly one?" Paige retorted. "Leo, I know I haven't known my sisters for very long, but we are connected on some level. That should be enough, shouldn't it?"

"In theory, yes," Leo said, hesitantly.

"Well, theory only becomes reality when it's put into practice," Paige said, decisively. "Stand back."

Leo obligingly backed up a few steps, and Paige closed her eyes in concentration. She took a few deep breaths to relax herself, and willed herself to where her sisters were.

"Chris?" she heard Leo say, a puzzled tone in his voice.

Paige's eyes snapped open to see Chris standing in front of her.

"What's going on?" he asked, slowly. "Where are you?"

"We're in the Corridor," Paige said. "Chris, how did you get here?"

Chris opened his mouth to answer and promptly disappeared.

"Chris?" Paige snapped. "Where did he go?" she demanded, turning to Leo. Leo shrugged helplessly.

Suddenly, Chris popped back in.

"I'm a conduit to your sisters," he said quickly. "They want to know how to get you out of here."

"Tell them to look up the Corridor in the Book of Shadows," Paige told him. "Leo and I need a portal to get out of here."

"Portal, got it," Chris said.

"And tell them to watch out for the Darklighter!" Paige said, quickly, but it was too late. Chris had already disappeared.

"Well that went well," Paige said, her shoulders slumping in defeat.

"I'm sure Chris will get your sisters the message," Leo said, reassuringly. "They'll have us out in no time."

"And if they don't?" Paige asked him. Leo had no answer to that one.

"So, do we just wait?" Paige asked, finally breaking the silence.

"There's not much else we can do," Leo admitted. Paige nodded in acquiescence, then frowned.

"Something's not right," she said, looking around suspiciously. "Get away from the windows."

"What?" Leo asked.

"Get away from the windows!" Paige snapped.

She shoved him out of the way as an arrow sailed through the picture window, straight at him. The arrow buried itself deep into her side, and she doubled over in agony, a sharp, pained, cry escaping from her lips.

"Paige!" Leo cried.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and helped her stagger out of the attic. Kerr, perched on a nearby roof, grinned maliciously.

"And so the hunt begins."

* * *

"Did you find out where Leo and Paige are?" Piper demanded, as Chris reformed in the attic for the last time.

"Paige said to look up the Corridor in the Book," Chris told them.

"Where were they when you saw them?" Phoebe asked.

"In the attic," Chris said. "Or, rather, a weird replica of the attic. When I was there, it felt…empty," he said at last, groping for an appropriate word.

"I can give you an answer for that," Piper said, from where she was busy flipping through the Book of Shadows.

"The Corridor is a parallel plane, existing between life and death," she read. "Souls rest there while waiting for their turn to move on to the afterlife."

"What does that say about Leo and Paige?" Phoebe asked, worriedly.

"They're not dead," Chris said instantly. "Trust me, I'd know."

"You're awfully confident about that," Piper said, eying him. "Care to share what you're hiding?"

"No, not really," Chris muttered, staring determinedly at the floorboards.

"Well, if you two want to work on how to get Leo and Paige out of the Corridor, I'm going to go check on Wyatt," Piper said, giving him a dirty look. "Call me if you need any help."

"Don't worry," Phoebe said, catching Piper's worried look as she was heading out of the attic. "We'll find them."

"In time?" Piper asked sadly, before going out of the room and down the stairs.

"We have to tell her," Phoebe said, rounding on Chris the instant Piper was out of earshot.

"We can't," Chris protested. "There's too much at stake."

"Chris, if Piper knows, she can take steps to make sure you're conceived," Phoebe told him.

"And what if she doesn't want to?" Chris asked, giving voice to his deepest fear. "What if she finds out that I'm her son, and doesn't want me?"

"Chris, that's ridiculous," Phoebe protested. "Piper would never feel that way."

"How can you be sure?" Chris asked. "In the future you saw, Piper never knew me; she only knew she was pregnant."

He dropped his gaze once more to the floorboards and his voice became quieter.

"I can't take the risk that she's not going to want me," he said.

He looked up in surprise as Phoebe hugged him, tightly. She held on for a second, but then her arms went straight through him.

"Your mother would never not want you," she assured him, recovering quickly.

Stepping back, she flashed him a bright smile.

"You keep looking through the Book," she said. "I'll be right back."

Chris nodded, and Phoebe slipped out of the attic, sneaking silently off to Wyatt's nursery.

"Piper, there's something you should know," Phoebe said softly, walking into Wyatt's nursery.

"What is it?" Piper asked, moving away from Wyatt's crib.

"It's about how Chris knows about Leo," Phoebe told her.

She hesitated, as part of her wondered if she was doing the right thing, by telling Piper about Chris, but she shrugged if off as quickly as it had come.

"You see, he knows that Leo's still alive because he wouldn't be here if he was dead," she continued.

"What are you talking about?" Piper demanded, confused.

"Chris is Leo's son," Phoebe said. "_Your_ son."

Piper's hand flew to her mouth, as she was stunned into silence.

"My son?" she finally gasped, looking paler than before. "Chris is my son?"

"Yeah," Phoebe confirmed, smiling slightly. "That's why he came back; he wanted to save his older brother."

"Then why is he fading away?" Piper asked, still confused.

"Because he hasn't been conceived, yet," Phoebe told her. "The longer you and Leo are apart, the more likely it is that Chris will cease to exist."

"I can't let that happen," Piper said, instantly. "I can't lose my son."

"That's what this is for," Phoebe said, holding up a vial filled with lavender potion. "As soon as we rescue Leo, here's what you'll do…"

She was about to continue, but was cut off when Chris entered the room. Or, rather, he floated, as his feet were no longer touching the floor.

"Chris?" Piper gasped.

"What's happening?" Phoebe demanded.

"Just wanted to say goodbye," Chris said, his voice echoing slightly. "While I still could. Guess I wasn't meant to be, after all."

"Chris, wait," Piper said, stepping forward, but it was too late.

Chris smiled sadly as he faded out of existence. Piper and Phoebe stared in shock at the place where he'd been only seconds before.

"We have to get them back," Piper said, after a moment. "We have to get Chris back."

* * *

"Sit down here," Leo said, easing Paige down against a wall in an alleyway.

"We have to keep moving, before the Darklighter finds us," Paige protested, weakly.

"First, we have to get that arrow out of you," Leo told her. "The longer it stays in, the more poison gets into your system."

"You can't heal me, remember?" Paige reminded him.

Suddenly she doubled over, coughing violently. Leo held her until the coughing fit passed, then helped her sit back against the wall.

"I know I can't heal you," Leo said. "But at least I can get the arrow out and bind your wound, to stop the bleeding."

"Without the arrow touching you?" Paige asked, her eyes glittering brightly with the beginnings of a fever. "It's just as deadly to you as it is to me. Maybe more so, even."

"I don't care about that," Leo told her.

"You should," Paige told him. Closing her eyes, she muttered, "It's just the potion talking, anyway."

"What potion?" Leo asked.

"Love potion," she mumbled, tiredly. "Made it to use on you and Piper, but the Darklighter threw it at us."

"Why would you want to use a love potion on Piper and me?" Leo asked, carefully.

"To save Chris," Paige muttered, incoherently.

"The poison's making you delirious," Leo said, decisively. "I'm going to get that arrow out."

He wrapped one hand around the arrow's shaft, and placed the other on her side, near the entry point.

"Brace yourself," he told her. "This is going to hurt. A lot."

Paige nodded, without opening her eyes, and took a deep breath. Leo took a deep breath as well, and then yanked the arrow out of Paige's side. She jerked, her eyes snapping open in shock, and her mouth opened in a silent scream of agony. Nothing came out, however, and she collapsed weakly after a few seconds.

"The arrowhead came out intact," Leo said, briskly. "With any luck, most of the poison is still left on it."

He tore a strip off the bottom of his shirt and tied it around Paige's wound. He pressed his hand gently on the wound, to help stop the bleeding, his heart constricting at her muffled sob of pain.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"It's okay," Paige gasped, blinking back tears. "Just do what you have to do."

Leo nodded and finished tightening the makeshift bandage. Paige drew a couple of ragged breaths and smiled weakly.

"This isn't really how I imagined I'd go," she joked.

"Just rest," Leo said softly, pulling her so that she was resting against him. "You need to conserve your strength."

Paige would have protested, but the poison from the arrow was draining her of her energy, and she was too weak to object. Fighting the tantalizing effects of the love potion wasn't doing her any good, either.

_'Besides,'_ she reflected, her thoughts fuzzy, _'it's nice to be held like this.'_

Telling herself firmly that she was just sharing body heat with her brother-in-law, nothing more, she gave up the fight and snuggled against Leo. Then, she made the mistake of looking up. Brown eyes met blue, and she found herself being swept away as Leo leaned down and gently kissed her.

Surrendering to the potion, and, perhaps, to some desire deep within herself, Paige returned Leo's embrace with an equal passion.

The next morning, Leo awoke and looked at Paige, lying beside him.

"Paige?" he said, quietly, shaking her shoulder. "Paige, wake up."

She moaned softly in response, but didn't wake up. Leo cursed himself silently for missing the moment when she lapsed into a coma during the middle of the night.

"And then there was one," a voice said, mockingly. Leo whirled to see the Darklighter standing behind him, his crossbow armed and ready.

"Leave her alone," Leo said, standing up slowly, shielding Paige with his body. Both of them failed to notice the air shimmering around them, warping slowly.

"Oh, I don't need to worry about her," the Darklighter said, triumph glinting in his eyes. "She's already dying. Now, all I need to do is to kill you."

"Think again," a new voice said. Piper and Phoebe stood behind the Darklighter. "No one messes with my family," Piper told him.

She raised her hands and blasted the Darklighter, sending him flying across the alleyway. Phoebe followed through with a potion that sent him screaming into Hell.

The sisters immediately hurried over to where Leo was bent over Paige. His hands glowed with a soft light as he healed her, and she gasped out a sudden breath, opening her eyes and looking around.

"What am I doing alive?" she asked, sitting up with Leo's help. They would have answered, except Chris chose that moment to reappear.

"You're back!" Phoebe cried, happily, rushing over and hugging him, tightly. "And you're whole, again."

"Yeah, that's strange," Chris admitted. "But, I don't care why I'm back, just so long as I am."

"Me too," Phoebe told him.

"Ditto," Paige said, standing up slowly. She flashed Chris a smile. "Good to see you here, and not hanging out between life and death," she continued.

"I say we get out of this alley, and go home," Piper said. "If we're gone too long, the elf nanny is going to charge me overtime."

"Besides," she continued, sharing a conspiratorial look with Phoebe, "there's something we need to do."

* * *

"You told her?" Chris gasped, shocked at this betrayal by someone he'd trusted.

"Did you want to be conceived, or not?" Phoebe demanded, angrily. "Honestly, Chris. What did you want me to do?"

"I don't know," Chris admitted, deflating instantly. "It's just that I've been hiding this for so long, I don't know how to act now that Mom knows the truth."

"You'll figure it out," Phoebe said, reassuringly. "We all will." She patted his arm, comfortingly, and then gasped as she was hit with an incoming premonition.

_"Leo! Damn it, get down here! Your son needs you!"_

_Leo orbed into the kitchen, a panicked look on his face. _

_"What's wrong with Wyatt?" he asked, looking around. _

_"Not Wyatt," Paige snapped, from where she'd been sitting by the table. "Chris needs his daddy."_

_"Is he hurt? Do I need to heal him?" Leo asked._

_"His stomach has been bothering him," Paige said._

_"Paige, I thought this was an emergency," Leo began. _

_"Emergencies," Paige said, contempt lacing her voice. "Is that the only way you'll spend any time with him?"_

_"Paige, we agreed that I would act as nothing more than Chris' uncle," Leo said._

_"No, Leo," she snarled. "You were the one who wanted to hide the truth. I wanted my son to know his father. I still do, although God knows you don't deserve to be a part of his life."_

_"I told you," Leo snapped. "I can't have anyone finding this out. Especially Piper. If she found out I'd been unfaithful to her, she'd lose it."_

_"What do you think I'm doing, raising our son and watching you ignore him?" Paige practically yelled. "Do you have any idea what that's like? How hard it is for me to keep lying like this?"_

_"Paige, I'm sorry you feel that way, but what happened between us…"_

_"No," Paige hissed, her voice deadly quiet. "Don't you ever say that it was a mistake. That he was a mistake. My-our-son is not a mistake."_

_She would have gone on, but the object of their discussion wandered into the kitchen. _

_"Mommy," Chris whimpered. "My tummy still hurts."_

_"I know, angel. Come here." Picking him up, she added, "Look who's here to make you feel better."_

_Glaring at Paige for putting him on the spot, Leo stepped forward and held his hands out._

_"Hey, buddy," he greeted Chris. "You want to feel better?"_

_"Go 'way," Chris mumbled, burying his face in Paige's hair._

_A pained look on his face, Leo quickly healed Chris then stepped back. _

_"How's that feel?" he asked. Chris ignored him, instead looking at Paige._

_"Can I go play with Wyatt?" he asked._

_"Sure, angel," Paige said, smiling. Setting him down, she watched him run into the other room before turning to face Leo._

_"I can't keep doing this," she said. "I can't keep lying to him, to my sisters."_

_"What are you saying, Paige?" Leo asked, cautiously._

_"I'm saying that Chris deserves to know the truth. He needs to know that you're his father."_

_"Paige, I already told you," Leo protested. "I can't tell Piper the truth about Chris."_

_"But I can," Paige said. Grabbing the phone, she started to dial Piper's cell number, but Leo took the phone away from her._

_"I'm sorry, Paige," he said, sadly. "I don't want to do this, but I can't lose Piper. I'm sorry."_

_He waved a hand in front of Paige's face and the air surrounding them shimmered. Moments passed, feeling like an eternity, as everything slowed down. Then, everything returned to normal, and it was as if nothing had ever happened._

_"What just happened?" Paige asked._

_"Are you okay?" Leo asked, pretending to be concerned._

_"I feel a little dizzy," Paige admitted. Suddenly, Chris and Wyatt burst into the room._

_"Daddy, daddy," they cried. _

_"Daddy, can you take us to the zoo?" Wyatt asked._

_"Please?" Chris pleaded, staring up at Leo, his tone entreating._

_"I've got a Council meeting," Leo said apologetically. "But, maybe if you ask nicely, Paige can take you."_

_"Can you?" Wyatt asked excitedly, turning to her. "Please?"_

_"What do you say?" Leo asked her. "Will you take your nephews to the zoo, Aunt Paige?"_

"What did you see?" Chris asked, worriedly, steadying her as she swayed slightly.

"I think I made a mistake, telling Piper that you were her son," Phoebe said.

"That's what I've been saying," Chris protested.

"Not for your reasons," Phoebe said. She closed her eyes as she tried to come to terms with what she'd seen in her vision.

"Piper isn't your mom," she continued, after a minute.

"What are you talking about?" Chris asked.

"Piper isn't your mom," Phoebe repeated, softly. "Leo stole you from your real mom when you were young. He used magic to alter reality, make everyone believe you were Piper's child."

"And just who is my real mom?" Chris asked, just as quietly.

"It's Paige," Phoebe said, tears springing to her eyes as she recalled what she'd seen. "Paige is your biological mother.

Chris blinked, clearly in shock.

"Does she know?" he asked, finally.

"I don't know," Phoebe told him.

"So, you're saying that Leo and Piper are up there," he said, jerking his thumb up at the upper floor of the house, "for nothing? You're telling me that I've already been conceived?"

Phoebe nodded. "That's probably why you came back when you did," she said.

"Why would Leo take me away from Paige?" Chris asked.

"To protect himself," Phoebe said, anger creeping into her voice. "Piper didn't know the truth about you, and he wanted to keep it that way."

"I still don't know what to do," Chris admitted, still trying to digest the news.

"We'll figure it out," Phoebe reassured him.

"How?" Chris asked.

"I'm still working on that part," Phoebe said. Chris chuckled weakly.

"Next question," he said. "How are we going to tell Mom?"

* * *

Upstairs in her room, Paige sat on her bed, staring at her reflection in the vanity mirror.

"What am I going to do?" she whispered.

Placing a hand on her abdomen, she sighed. If she concentrated hard enough, she could sense the life growing inside her-as well as a tenuous connection to the young man downstairs.

"How am I going to tell Leo about you?" she asked. "And how am I going to tell Chris?"


	4. Inner Demons

**Chapter Four: Inner Demons**

Phoebe flipped idly through the stack of yearbooks on her bed. Pausing at a page, she ran her fingers over the picture of a young man. A pensive look came over her face, and she sighed, sadly. After a moment, she got up, walked down the hall, and stopped in front of the bathroom, where the sound of retching could be heard.

"You okay in there?" she called, knocking lightly on the door.

There was silence for a moment, and then the toilet flushed and the door opened pulling the doorknob out of her grip. Paige poked her head out of the bathroom and leveled a look at her. Phoebe gasped involuntarily as she took in how green her sister was.

"Do I _look_ okay?" Paige asked, waspishly.

"You're grumpy when you're pregnant," Phoebe observed.

"I've had morning sickness every day since I found out I was pregnant, Chris is avoiding me, and Piper still isn't speaking to me for sleeping with Leo and being pregnant with the baby you told her she was going to have," Paige informed her, scowling.

"Oh, and, Leo's Up There, being a full-time Elder, and so has no idea that I'm pregnant. I think I'm entitled to be a little grumpy."

"Well, Piper can't stay mad at you forever, and Chris just needs some time to adjust to you being his mom," Phoebe said. "And the morning sickness will go away, after a while."

"Yeah, after the baby's born," Paige snorted. Shaking her head, she added, "Chris isn't the only one who needs time to adjust."

Shooting Phoebe a look, she added, "You never did tell me how you figured out that Chris was my son. "

"I told you," Phoebe said, "I had a premonition."

"About?" Paige prompted.

"How did you know Chris was your son?" Phoebe asked quickly, changing the subject.

"I can sense the baby, and through that connection, I can sense Chris," Paige said, shortly. "What was your premonition about?"

"I can't tell you," Phoebe said. "All I can tell you is that I saw Chris call you mommy, and you told Leo he was your son."

"Why can't you tell me the rest?" Paige wanted to know.

"Because I don't want you getting upset," Phoebe told her.

"Like I'm doing right now?" Paige asked, annoyance creeping into her tone.

"Okay, more upset," Phoebe amended. "What's really wrong?"

"You're being nosy, again," Paige grumbled.

"You didn't answer my question," Phoebe said, pointedly.

"Okay, fine," Paige huffed. "I'm scared about losing Chris."

"What do you mean, losing Chris?" Phoebe asked.

"He came back from the future believing that Piper was his mother," Paige said. "Even now, he still has memories of being her son. Obviously, something happened, or I did something, to make me lose my son."

"It was nothing you did," Phoebe hastened to assure her.

"How do you know?" Paige asked. "Phoebe, I can't lose him. I just can't."

"You won't," Phoebe said. "I'm going to go talk to Piper."

"You do that," Paige said.

As Phoebe walked away, she heard the bathroom door slam quickly behind her, and chuckled softly to herself. Continuing down the hallway, she found Piper sitting in Wyatt's nursery, watching her son sleep.

"You okay?" Phoebe asked.

"No," Piper said, without looking up at her.

"You can't stay mad at Paige, forever," Phoebe said, echoing her earlier comment.

"Oh, yes, I can," Piper remarked, finally looking at her. "She stole my son."

"Paige didn't steal Chris," Phoebe said, with a long-suffering sigh. "I've explained this, before. Chris was never your son. Leo altered reality, stealing him from Paige and giving him to you."

"Leo's an Elder," Piper said, flatly. "He would never do anything like that. And he doesn't have the power to do anything like that, even if he was capable of it."

"Well, he obviously gets the power and the motivation at some point in the future," Phoebe protested. "Piper, I know this isn't the only thing that's bothering you. Want to talk about it?"

"No," Piper said. "And how do you know I'm upset, anyway?"

"I can sense your distress," Phoebe said.

"What about the Empath-blocking potion we took?" Piper demanded.

"Oh, it wore off a few months ago," Phoebe said. "I've just been keeping your emotions to myself."

"Good to know an advice columnist can take the advice of others," Piper teased. Then, she sobered.

"I'm worried about this," she said, indicating her abdomen.

"You mean the baby?" Phoebes asked, confused.

"Did I have any other children in the premonitions you had?" Piper asked, rather than answering her question.

"No," Phoebe said. "Just Wyatt and Chris."

"So, how do we know that Leo and I didn't change the future, by conceiving this baby?" Piper asked. "Who knows what effect that might have?"

"Or,"she continued, more to herself than Phoebe, "how do we know that I hadn't been pregnant in Chris' future, and that something happened to the baby?"

"That's what I'm worried about," she continued, looking up at her sister. "There has to be a reason my baby wasn't in either of your premonitions, and I don't think I could survive finding out that I was that reason. That I did something that hurt my baby."

"You would never do anything to hurt your baby," Phoebe assured her, quickly.

"Not deliberately," Piper said, softly. "But, you remember when I got sick with Wyatt, right before he was born. What if something like that happens again?"

"We aren't going to let it happen," Phoebe told her. "Nothing is going to happen to your baby, Piper. I promise."

"Thanks, sis," Piper said, a tired smile lighting up her face. Phoebe grinned back, sharing a sisterly moment.

"So," Piper said, after a moment. "Are you ready for your reunion, tonight?"

"No," Phoebe admitted. "I really don't want to go back to that place and deal with those people again."

"You and Prue made me go to my high school reunion," Piper reminded her. "I'm making you go to yours."

"You got possessed by a murderous demonic essence and nearly died," Phoebe told her. "Wouldn't you feel guilty if the same thing happened to me?"

"That was a cheap shot," Piper retorted. "And, besides, what are the chances of something like that happening again?"

"Based on this family's history," Paige said, from the doorway, "I'd have to say the odds are pretty high."

Piper looked over to see her younger sister leaning against the door frame, her arms wrapped protectively around her abdomen.

"Have I been voted out of the house?" she asked.

Piper shook her head. "Come on in," she said. "Phoebe and I were just discussing what she should wear to her reunion."

"We were not," Phoebe protested.

"Okay, we were about to start discussing it," Piper said. "I think she should wear that white peasant blouse with the blue stripes, and the blue jean skirt."

"That's cute," Paige said. "Or, she could wear that black dress she wore for the awards banquet last month."

"Nice and classy," Piper agreed. "The black dress, it is."

"Don't I get a say in any of this?" Phoebe demanded.

"No," Piper and Paige chorused.

"If we don't do it, you'll take so long, the reunion will be over before you get dressed," Paige accused.

"So, you're just going to steamroll right over me?" Phoebe wanted to know.

"Yup," Piper said. "Besides, don't you want to show those creeps how much you've changed since high school?"

"Yeah," Phoebe admitted, slowly.

"Go get dressed," Piper said, pushing Phoebe toward the door. Phoebe nodded and walked toward her room.

"I'm worried about Phoebe," Paige said, once she was out of earshot.

"High school was hard for her," Piper said, tucking Wyatt in more firmly and leaving the room. Paige followed behind, absently rubbing an ache in the small of her back.

"High school was no cake walk for either of us," Paige reminded.

"Yeah, but Phoebe's high school years were hellish," Piper told her, going down to the kitchen.

"She never really felt like she fit in, what with the popular group always teasing her, and all of her teachers were ones Prue and I had before her, so she kept getting compared to one, or both of us, in class."

"Sounds tough," Paige commiserated. "But those aren't really reasons to not want to go back."

"And then there was Billy Weir," Piper said.

"Who was Billy Weir?" Paige asked.

"Billy Weir was Phoebe's boyfriend all through junior and senior year," Piper said. "He and Phoebe were absolutely inseparable, which was strange because the two couldn't have been more different."

"Billy was the quiet, studious type, wasn't he?" Paige asked, smiling as she recalled what Piper had told her before about Phoebe as a teenager.

"Exactly," Piper said. "Then, halfway through Phoebe's senior year, Billy was killed in a drunk driving accident. Phoebe has never really gotten over him."

"So what do we do, now?" Paige asked.

"Help her get over her inner demons," Piper said, sighing. "It's all we can do."

* * *

Half an hour later, Phoebe came downstairs and executed a slow pirouette for her sisters at the base of the stairs.

"How do I look?" she asked.

"You look wonderful," Paige said.

"Stunning," Piper added. "Baker High isn't going to know what hit it."

"Good," Phoebe said, satisfaction in her voice. "That's what I'm hoping for."

Looking around the room, she asked, "What are you guys waiting for?"

"More like who," Piper said wryly. "I invited Dad over to tell him about his new grandchild."

"And I asked Sam to come over," Paige said. "I'm hoping he can find out what's bugging Chris, and why he's been avoiding me."

"So, what's the problem?" Phoebe asked.

"They're both coming over now," Paige said, glancing over as the doorbell rang. "That's probably Victor."

"And that'll be Sam, now," Piper added, as a swirl of lights formed in the center of the foyer.

"Ready for the fun to begin?" Paige asked, rhetorically.

Walking to the door, Piper opened it and greeted Victor with an enthusiastic hug.

"Hey, honey," Victor said, laughing. "On the phone you said you had big news."

"Does a new grandchild count as big news?" Piper asked, grinning impishly.

"You're pregnant?" Victor gasped, pulling away and looking at her in surprise. "I'm going to be a grandpa, again?"

"Yeah," Piper told him. "You want to come in?"

"Of course I do," Victor said. He stepped inside, shutting the door softly behind him. Following Piper into the living room, he stopped short when he saw Paige and Sam talking quietly.

"What's _he_ doing here?" he asked, harshly.

"He's Paige's father and, as such, is entitled to be here," Piper said sternly. "Besides, she needs him, right now."

Leveling a look at her father, she added, "Be nice. The two of you only have to tolerate each other's presence for a little while."

"Fine," Victor said, shortly. He nodded at Sam as the Whitelighter came over, and they stiffly shook hands.

"Sam," Victor said, his tone cold.

"Victor," Sam acknowledged.

"I hope they get along," Paige whispered.

"Me, too," Piper replied. "Where's Phoebe?"

"Kitchen, grabbing a bite to eat before her reunion," Paige said.

"Phoebe's going to a reunion?" Victor asked, as he and Sam joined the conversation.

"My high school reunion," Phoebe said, coming into the room. "Sorry I can't stay and talk, Daddy."

"That's okay," Victor said, hugging her. "You go on and have a good time. I'm sure Piper and I can find plenty to talk about. Like my new grand-"

His voice trailed off expectantly as he looked at Piper.

"Child," she finished for him. "I don't know whether it's a boy or girl, yet."

"Then how do you know you're having a boy?" Sam asked, looking at his daughter. "Aren't you and Piper due at the same time?"

"I'll let you guys sort this one out," Phoebe said, smiling as she grabbed her coat from the rack. "See you all later."

"Have fun," Piper and Paige chorused, before turning back to their respective fathers.

"So, how do you know the gender of your baby if Piper doesn't?" Sam asked Paige, once Phoebe had left the Manor.

"That's a long story," Paige said, sharing a look with Piper.

"We have time," Victor told them, as he and Sam sat down on the couch.

"You tell them," Piper said. "He's your son."

* * *

Phoebe stepped into the auditorium of Baker High School, and was instantly brought back to the last time she'd been there, as a senior.

_'With Billy,'_ a tiny voice in the back of her mind reminded her. Phoebe did her best to ignore it, choosing, instead, to go over to the check-in table.

"Phoebe Halliwell," she said, to the coordinator.

"And your guest?" the woman asked, her tone bored. She looked up and Phoebe found herself staring at her old gym teacher.

"No guest," she said, swallowing hard. "Just me."

"Here," the woman said, slapping a name tag in the palm of her hand.

"Thanks," Phoebe mumbled, sticking the tag on the shoulder strap of her dress.

She wandered away from the table, and then stopped in the middle of the room, staring helplessly around her.

"So much for the great Ask Phoebe," she muttered. Then, a voice behind her had her spinning around.

"Phoebe Halliwell?" a man asked. "It's Todd Marks," he added, seeing her confused look.

"Todd?" Phoebe gasped, looking carefully at the man who'd been one of her closest friends in high school. "I hardly recognize you. You've changed so much!"

"So have you," Todd said, smiling. "From juvenile delinquent to San Francisco's own Ask Phoebe."

"Well, you know, I couldn't stay a rebel forever," Phoebe said airily. "Although," she added conspiratorially, "can I confide in you?"

"Sure," Todd said, leaning in closer.

"They had to drag me kicking and screaming into adulthood," Phoebe whispered, winking.

"That's the old Phoebe I know," Todd said. "So, what have you been doing since high school? Besides being Ask Phoebe, I mean?"

"Well, I'm still living at home with my sisters," Phoebe said. "I got married, went through the divorce from Hell, found a long-lost sister, you know, that kind of stuff. You?"

"Nothing as exciting as discovering a long-lost sibling," Todd told her. "Mainly, I became a dental hygienist and got married."

"Dental hygiene can be exciting," Phoebe said.

"Only if I'm cleaning the teeth of a member of the Mafia," Todd joked.

"So, is your wife here with you?" Phoebe asked, looking around the gym.

"Somewhere," Todd said. Spotting her, he waved an arm. "Shelly! Honey, over here!"

A tall, blonde, gorgeous woman walked over, and Todd wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Shell," he said, smiling warmly at her, "I'd like you to meet Phoebe Halliwell. She and I were in English Lit together. Phoebe, this is my wife, Shelly."

"Nice to meet you," Shelly said, extending a hand.

Phoebe shook her hand, and was shocked when Shelly tightened her grip, painfully, hissing, "It's all your fault. You should die for what you've done."

"What?" Phoebe gasped, yanking her hand away from Shelly. Then she got a good look at her. The woman looked bewildered, rather than hostile.

"What's going on?" Phoebe muttered, speaking to herself.

"Phoebe, is something wrong?" Todd asked, concerned. He moved closer, and Phoebe stumbled backward, suddenly overwhelmed by all of the people crowding around her.

"I-I don't know," Phoebe stammered. "I have to go. I'm sorry."

Turning, she fled out of the gymnasium. Once she was away from the crush of people, she stopped and leaned wearily against the wall, gasping frantically for breath. Her thoughts raced wildly, as she tried to regain her equilibrium.

_'What's happening to me?' _she thought, panicking. _'Am I losing my mind?'_

"You're not losing your mind," a silky voice whispered. Phoebe whirled around, but there was no one anywhere in sight.

"Wh-Who's there?" she asked, fearfully.

"It's all your fault," the voice continued. Phoebe couldn't be sure, but she had the nagging suspicion that she'd heard that voice, before.

"Who are you?" Phoebe asked, trying desperately to sense something, anything. For a few seconds there was nothing, then she sensed a burning hatred, directed straight at her.

"You know who I am," the voice said, malice dripping from every word. "You killed me."

"Billy?" Phoebe whispered, finally placing the voice. "Billy, is that you?"

* * *

"So, Chris came back from the future thinking that he's my son, but apparently he's really Paige's," Piper explained.

"Why?" Sam asked.

"According to Phoebe, it's Leo's fault," Piper said, then her eyes widened as she realized what she'd said.

"What?" Paige yelped, jerking upright. "Leo's the one who's going to steal…"

Her voice trailed off weakly, and she collapsed back against the couch cushions. Her face paled and she looked close to tears.

"Honey, I'm sorry," Piper said, awkwardly. "You weren't supposed to find out like that."

"Or at all, if Phoebe had her way, right?" Paige asked. Spying Chris lurking in the shadows of the doorway, she demanded, "Did you know about this?"

Chris nodded, reluctantly, coming into the room.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" Paige asked.

"We didn't want you to get upset," Chris said, slowly.

"If it's something that concerns your safety, then I deserve to know about it," Paige snapped. "I am your mother."

"I was just trying to protect you," Chris protested.

"But it's my job to protect you," Paige told him.

"And a great job you did of it, too," Chris muttered, resentment coloring his tone.

Paige gasped, paling again, as Chris stormed out of the room.

"I'll go after him," Sam said, standing quickly and leaving the room.

"I'll join you," Victor said, following behind him.

"He didn't mean it," Piper said, reassuringly, as Paige looked worriedly after her son.

Paige nodded wordlessly, picking up the phone when it rang.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Paige, it's me," Phoebe said. She sounded like she'd been crying.

"Phoebes, what's wrong?" Paige asked, immediately concerned, gesturing for Piper to come closer.

"I-something happened at the reunion," Phoebe said, her voice choking. "I'm too upset to drive, right now. Can you come pick me up?"

"I'll be right there," Paige reassured her. Clicking off the phone, she turned to Piper.

"Something's wrong with Phoebe," she told them. "I'm going to orb over and pick her up."

"Be careful," Piper said.

"I will be," Paige said, orbing out. She rematerialized in the shadows of a darkened classroom, and slipped out into the hallway.

Following the signs posted on the walls, she made her way to the gymnasium, and found Phoebe leaning against the wall. Her eyes were closed and she had wrapped her arms around her midsection. As Paige got closer, she could see that Phoebe was shivering.

"Phoebes?" Paige said, gently touching her shoulder. Phoebe opened her eyes and Paige was taken aback by the naked fear she saw reflected in them.

"Let's get you home," she said softly, putting an arm around her shoulders and leading her toward the parking lot. "Do you have your keys?"

Phoebe fished her keys out of her purse and passed them to Paige. After helping her sister into the passenger seat, Paige slid into the driver's seat and started the car. They drove home without speaking, until Paige pulled into the driveway of the Manor.

"Thanks for coming to get me," Phoebe whispered.

"Of course, sweetie," Paige said, hugging her shoulders. "Ready to go inside?"

"Give me a minute," Phoebe said, swiping at the tears that pooled in her eyes.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Paige asked.

"Not here," Phoebe said, fighting to compose herself. "I want to wait until we're in the house."

After a moment, she tossed her used Kleenex in the trash and opened her door.

"I'm ready," she said, walking to the front door without looking back. Paige trailed her into the house and sat down on the couch beside her.

"Is everything okay?" Piper asked, gently. "Paige said something was wrong."

"Something happened at the reunion," Phoebe said, slowly, looking at her sisters. "I-"

Her voice trailed off and she stared helplessly down at her hands.

"Honey, what happened?" Paige asked.

"I saw, or rather I heard, Billy at the reunion," Phoebe said.

"Phoebes, Billy died," Piper reminded her gently. "How could you have heard him?"

"I heard his spirit," Phoebe said, clearly miserable. "He said it was my fault he died."

"That's ridiculous," Piper scoffed. "Billy was killed in a drunk driving accident. It wasn't your fault."

Phoebe wrung her hands nervously. "It was my fault, though," she whispered, finally.

"What are you talking about?" Paige asked.

"I killed Billy," Phoebe said.

"Phoebe," Piper began.

"I was driving that night," Phoebe continued, oblivious to Piper's protests. "I was the drunk driver that killed Billy."

* * *

"Just don't look down," Sam said, as he and Victor materialized on top of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Victor tried to comply, but couldn't resist a quick peek over the edge. His vertigo caused by the height, plus his disorientation from orbing, caused him to sway dangerously close to the edge. Sam grabbed the collar of his jacket and hauled him back to the center of the support pillar.

"I said, don't look down," he repeated, irritated. "There's Chris," he added, nodding at a lone figure sitting on one of the cables.

"How are we supposed to talk to him up there?" Victor asked.

"We're not," Sam told him. "Stay here."

"Where am I going to go?" Victor asked, as Sam orbed over to Chris.

He watched as the two exchanged heated words for a moment. Then, Sam grabbed Chris's collar and orbed back over to Victor. He snagged Victor's jacket quickly and orbed them all to P3, which was dark and abandoned for the night.

"What are we doing here?" Chris asked, pulling out of Sam's grasp.

"We're going to talk," Sam told him.

"There's nothing to talk about," Chris muttered, sullenly.

"Your behavior towards Paige says differently," Victor said, from where he'd collapsed on a chair.

"What did you mean about Paige not being able to protect you?" Sam asked.

"It's nothing," Chris protested.

"It's obviously something, or you never would have mentioned it," Victor said.

"What, are you tag-teaming me, now?" Chris asked.

"Don't change the subject," Victor said. "And we're only doing this because we're concerned about you."

"Thanks, Grandpas," Chris said, smiling slightly. "And the future, it's…complicated," he said, hesitantly.

"Try explaining," Sam encouraged. "Sometimes, things work themselves out by just talking them over."

"I don't know if it's going to be that easy," Chris admitted.

"You'll never know until you try," Victor told him. Chris nodded, and took a deep breath.

"Well, I came back here thinking that Piper was my mom," he began. "I had no idea that it was really Paige."

"How did you find out?" Victor asked.

"Phoebe had a premonition," Chris said. "She said she saw Leo using magic to take me away from Paige."

"Did she say why he did it?" Sam asked.

"He wanted to protect himself, and not lose Piper," Chris said.

"It still doesn't explain why you hate Paige," Victor said.

"I don't hate her!" Chris protested, instantly.

"Why did you say that Paige couldn't protect you?" Victor asked, steering them back onto the subject at hand.

"Because she didn't, did she?" Chris asked. "I mean, Leo was still able to take me away from her. I lived this lie all my life, and I'm only now finding out about it."

"Sounds to me like you're more mad at Leo than at Paige," Victor remarked.

"I guess," Chris admitted, reluctantly. "I do love Mom," he said, after a moment. "I just don't know how to deal with her as my mom."

"You'll learn," Sam said. "I imagine it can't be easy for her to adjust to the fact that her nephew is suddenly her son."

"What I don't understand," Victor interjected, "is how Leo was able to take you away in the first place. Do Elders even have that kind of power?"

"No," Sam said, a worried look crossing his face. "Elders don't have the ability to manipulate reality. It's beyond even their scope."

"So, what does that mean?" Victor asked.

"It means that some time in the future," Sam said, "Leo stops being an Elder…"

"And becomes something even more powerful and, apparently, even more dangerous," Chris finished, glumly.

* * *

"Oh my God," Piper gasped.

"I'd been drinking at a party," Phoebe said, staring at a spot on the far wall. "Billy convinced me that we should go home, and he started out driving, because all he'd had was water at the party.

"About halfway home, I convinced him to let me drive, and I ran a red light. I never even saw the other car."

"Phoebes," Paige began hesitantly, not sure of what to say.

"Don't you see?" Phoebe cried, suddenly becoming hysterical. "If I hadn't been driving that night, Billy never would have died. It's all my fault, and now Billy's coming back for his revenge!"

"Phoebe," Piper said sternly. "I knew Billy, too, remember. And he is not the kind of person to want to take revenge on you. He loved you, honey."

"Rick and Nathan were Leo's best friends, and they still wanted revenge for their deaths," Phoebe reminded her. "And he wasn't even responsible for their deaths."

"That's not the same thing," Paige told her.

"It's my fault," Phoebe repeated, woodenly.

"Yeah," Piper said, quietly, causing Phoebe to look up in shock. "You said it yourself. You were driving, you were drunk, and you were reckless. If Billy had kept driving, he probably never would have died."

At Phoebe's sharp intake of breath, she continued.

"But, you're not that person, anymore. You're not that selfish girl who puts her desires ahead of everything else. You've grown and matured."

"But none of that matters," Phoebe said, finally. "I still killed someone. I killed the love of my life. And now I need to pay for what I've done."

Standing, she trudged to the stairs and up to her room.

"What are we going to do?" Piper asked, dropping her head into her hands. "I mean, I can help her deal with a lost Innocent, but this is a little out of my league."

"Not mine," Paige said, earning a startled look from her sister.

"I'll tell you later," she continued. "Right now, I'm going to go see if I can do anything for Phoebe."

"Good luck," Piper said. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."

"Why the kitchen?" Paige asked, pausing at the landing.

"I'm going to make the ghost vanquishing potion," Piper said. "If Billy really is after Phoebe, we need to be prepared."

Paige nodded, continuing up the stairs to Phoebe's room. Knocking perfunctorily, she entered, closing the door behind her.

"Go 'way," Phoebe mumbled, from where she had her face buried in her pillow. Paige ignored her and sat down on the bed, the springs creaking slightly under her weight.

"Can't you just let me be miserable in peace?" Phoebe grumbled, lifting her head and glaring at her sister.

"What kind of sister would I be if I did that?" Paige asked. "C'mon, sis. Talk to me."

"Don't wanna talk," Phoebe mumbled, hiding her face again. "Just leave me alone."

"Phoebe, Billy's death was an accident," Paige told her.

"I killed him," Phoebe said, without looking up. "I deserve to be punished."

"You're right," a new voice said. "You do deserve to be punished."

Phoebe snapped her head up and looked around wildly. Paige jumped to her feet, trying desperately to find the source of the voice.

"Billy, I'm so sorry!" Phoebe cried.

"Too late," Billy snapped, angrily.

Suddenly, Phoebe's head whipped around, her face contorting with pain from the blow.

"Phoebe!" Paige cried. Moving to her sister's side, she glared defiantly into thin air. "Leave her alone!" she snarled, pushing Phoebe toward the door.

"Going somewhere, witch?" Billy hissed, right in her ear. Paige whirled, but an invisible force lifted her off her feet and threw her across the room.

"Paige!" Phoebe screamed, seeing her sister slump against the wall. Paige moaned softly but didn't move.

"Billy, leave her alone," she begged. "She's not the one you're angry at."

"You're right," Billy told her. "I don't want to kill her. I want to kill you."

Phoebe felt a rush of wind, and then a pair of hands viciously grabbed her collar and pulled her forward. A rush of fear went through her as she instinctively struggled to get away.

"Ready to join me in my hell?" Billy growled. Phoebe went pale, then her eyes widened as she saw someone in the doorway.

"Actually, she's not," Piper said.

Raising her hands, she unleashed a blast of exploding power directly at Phoebe and her attacker. Phoebe panicked, thinking that Piper had lost it, trying to blow up a ghost, but then her attacker yelled in pain, releasing her and shimmering into existence.

"You're not Billy!" Phoebe gasped, stumbling backward quickly.

"Surprise," the demon snarled. Turning on Piper, he continued, "You're going to pay for that, witch."

Before either of them could react, the demon shimmered away, clutching his injured shoulder, protectively.

"Paige," Piper gasped, seeing her baby sister prone on the floor.

"The demon got her," Phoebe said, hurrying over to where she lay. "How did you know?"

"That he was a demon?" Piper asked. "I didn't," she admitted, sheepishly. "I was taking a chance."

"Well, thanks," Phoebe replied. Just then, Paige sat up, groaning in pain.

"What happened?" she asked, holding her head gingerly.

"Demon," Piper informed her. "Trying to drive Phoebe insane, apparently."

"Did you blow him up?" Paige asked, slowly standing with her sisters' help.

"Only his shoulder," Piper confessed. "You okay? How's Chris?"

"I'm fine, and so is he," Paige said touching her abdomen, reassuringly. Looking at Phoebe, she asked, "And, how are you feeling? You okay?"

"There's a part of me that's relieved that it's only a demon who wants to kill me," Phoebe said. "And there's another part that's as mad as hell that any demon could think of ruining his memory like that."

"And there's still a whole lot of guilt," she acknowledged, after a moment. "I don't think I'll ever get over feeling like this."

"Well, you're going to have to for a moment," Piper told her, "because we've got a demon to vanquish."

"Right," Phoebe said. Walking out the door, she went to the attic, her sisters following close behind.

* * *

"Well, this sucks," Paige said, five minutes later.

"What does?" Piper asked, looking up from where she was playing with Wyatt in his playpen.

"There's no mention of a demon with the power to become invisible," Paige grumped, slamming the Book shut.

"If he's not in there, then how are we going to vanquish him?" Phoebe asked, from where she was lying on the couch, her arm thrown over her eyes.

"Yeah," Piper chimed in. "I doubt my power's going to work, considering I only blew part of him up last time."

"So, we'll make a potion," Paige said, a determined look crossing her face.

"We know nothing about this demon," Piper reminded her.

"We'll use strong ingredients," Paige said, flipping through the Book with renewed energy. "Beetle toe, thistle root, hellebore; the whole nine yards."

"Thanks, sis," Phoebe said, wearily. "You're like the last sister standing."

"No one hurts my sister and gets away with it," Paige said.

"What are you looking for?" Piper asked, after a few minutes of watching Paige turn the Book's pages manically.

"The potions we used on Cole," Paige said. "I know I wrote them down in here."

"Stop here," Piper said, joining her by the lectern where the Book rested.

"That's not the potions," Paige said.

"No, but that's the demon," Piper told her. "I'd recognize that face anywhere."

"Then, why was I the one looking?" Paige wondered aloud. Turning her attention back to the entry in the Book, she skimmed it quickly.

"It doesn't say anything about invisibility," she said.

"Maybe he stole the power," Phoebe suggested. "What's his name, anyway?"

"Malvius," Paige read from the demon's entry. "He's an upper-level demon with an uncanny ability for mimicry, and the ability to see into his victims hearts and strike at their deepest doubts and fears."

"That explains how he made me think he was Billy," Phoebe said, glumly. "I was probably like an open book to him."

"Open book to who?" Chris asked, as he, Sam, and Victor orbed into the attic.

He let go of Victor, who immediately swayed and staggered over to the couch, his face going gray as he sank down.

"Breathe into this," Paige suggested, orbing a paper bag into her hand and giving it to Victor. "It should help with the nausea."

At her sisters' incredulous looks, she added, "Orbing used to take a lot out of me, too."

"Thanks," Victor mumbled, bending over and breathing slowly.

"Don't worry," Chris said, laughing. "You'll get used to it."

"What happened to you not sharing info about the future?" Phoebe asked, curiously.

"There was a ghost after Phoebe, only it was a demon pretending to be a ghost," Piper explained to Chris, overriding Phoebe's comment.

She gestured to the open page, and Chris peered over her shoulder.

"I know this guy," he said, surprise evident in his tone.

Paige's head whipped around to stare at her son.

"What do you mean, you know him?" she asked. "How?"

"I know of him, actually," Chris corrected himself. "By the time I found this page in the Book, he'd been vanquished."

"So, how'd we do it?" Phoebe asked, joining the group.

"I don't know," Chris said, sheepishly. "I never thought to ask."

"And you're not going to get the chance to find out," Malvius said, mockingly.

The sisters whirled around, placing themselves between the demon and their family.

"Get Victor out of here," Paige snapped to Sam, who grabbed the mortal's arm and orbed them both out of the attic.

"I'll just kill him, later," Malvius said. "After I deal with you."

"You're not touching our father," Piper snarled.

She flung her hands out, but the energy only staggered Malvius, who laughed cruelly.

"You're not strong enough to kill me," he said. "Especially when you're not together."

Flinging out a hand, he sent Piper, Chris, and Paige flying, separating them from Phoebe. Paige landed hard on the couch, Chris hitting the floor, nearby, and Piper crashed against the Book's lectern.

"Phoebe, move!" Piper yelled, struggling to get up when she saw Malvius advancing threateningly on her sister, who was frozen in fear.

"Phoebe!" Paige yelled, trying to jar her to awareness.

"She can't hear you," Malvius said, his voice silky. "All she hears is the voice of the man she murdered."

"Phoebe, it was an accident!" Piper shouted.

"You killed me," Malvius said, in Billy's voice.

"Don't listen to him, Phoebes," Chris entreated. "He's just trying to trick you."

"You should pay," Malvius continued, brushing Phoebe's cheek.

"Don't touch her," Paige snarled.

She flung out a hand, intending to orb Phoebe away from him, but stared, surprised, as a bolt of white energy flew out of her hand, striking Malvius in the chest. He staggered backward, staring in shock at the gaping wound.

"No one hurts my sister, and gets away with it," Paige told him, recovering quickly from her shock.

Concentrating, she extended her hand toward Malvius and watched as another bolt incinerated him. Unfortunately, a second bolt escaped her control and wiped out an old lamp sitting on a small table.

"Damn," she muttered, staring at her palm.

"That was Grams' favorite lamp," Piper complained, turning on her.

"I didn't mean to break it," Paige protested.

"Hello, people?" Phoebe said. "Anyone care about the dead demon? Or Paige's new power, for that matter?"

"That is one cool power, sis," Piper told her. "And you've always wanted an offensive power."

"Yeah, but is it my new power, or his?" Paige said, rubbing her abdomen and looking over at Chris.

"Oh, we'll figure that out later," Piper said, waving a hand, dismissively. "For now…"

Her voice trailed off mysteriously and she shot a look at Paige, who grinned in understanding. She joined Piper and Chris at the Book of Shadows, and they began to chant.

_"Hear these words, hear my cry,_

_Spirit from the other side._

_Come to me, I summon Thee._

_Cross now the Great Divide."_

"What is this?" Phoebe asked, confused.

"You'll see," Chris said, as a shadowy form started to form in the center of the attic.

Then, the form solidified, and Phoebe gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.

"Billy?" she whispered.

"Hey, Phoebes," Billy said, smiling warmly.

* * *

"Malvius failed."

The underling moved out of the shadows, his voice and stance cocky.

"I told you he wasn't strong enough to break the witch's spirit."

The demon nodded, acknowledging the comment, but didn't turn from his examination of the basin of water in front of him.

"Do you know what this is?" he asked, finally.

The underling came closer and looked down.

"A bowl of water?" he hazarded.

"Concentric rings," the demon explained. "The symbol of escalating effects."

"I don't understand," the underling said.

"This is what is going to happen to Wyatt," the demon said tolerantly. "The seed I plant will take root and grow over the years, until it has completely taken over, corrupting him."

"That doesn't sound very effective," the underling complained.

"The boy will come to us in time," the demon said placidly. "Then, I will reap my rewards."

* * *

"How did the ultrasound go?" Chris asked. Paige had called him from her car as soon as she had finished her appointment.

"You'll be happy to know that you're a boy," Paige teased.

"That's not what I meant," Chris said, exasperation and affection warring in his voice. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine," Paige assured him. "You are in perfect health and growing like a weed, according to my doctor."

"Mom," Chris began, and Paige smiled at the note of hesitancy in her son's voice.

"That's the first time you called me that," she said, fondly. "What is it?"

"I'm sorry for what I said, earlier," he continued. "I didn't mean it. I was just upset…"

His voice trailed off, awkwardly, and there was silence for several seconds.

"It's already forgiven," Paige said, at last. "I get the feeling I'm never going to be able to stay mad at you, anyway."

"Well, I was always your favorite, in the future," Chris said. Paige laughed.

"I should be going," she said at last, "if I want to beat the worst of the traffic."

"Bye, Mom," Chris said. "Drive carefully."

"Bye, angel," she replied, fondly. "See you when I get home."

Clicking off her phone, she started her car and drove out of the parking lot. Stopping at a red light, she tapped her fingers idly on the steering wheel, humming along to the radio. After a few minutes, the light turned green, and she pulled forward, into the intersection.

Suddenly, she caught a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. An instant later, another driver slammed into the side of her car, crumpling the metal of the door all around her.

Paige clutched the steering wheel convulsively as she desperately tried to pull her car out of the tailspin it had gone into. She saw something looming as she lost control of her car, and she braced for the impact she knew was coming.

_'God,'_ she prayed, _'just don't take my baby. Anything but him.'_

Then, her car wrapped itself around a telephone pole and her world went black.


	5. A New Leaf

**Chapter Five: A New Leaf**

"Okay, what exactly did Ava say?" Piper asked, pressing her foot down on the accelerator and swerving around a slower moving car.

"She said that Paige had been brought in after a car accident, that she was in bad shape, and that we needed to get down to the hospital as soon as possible," Phoebe told her breathlessly, clutching desperately at the door handle.

"Is she trying to scare us?" Piper snapped, weaving rapidly in and out of traffic.

Phoebe's eyes widened as the Jeep came dangerously close to the median, and she gave a tiny squeak.

"Piper, we want to visit Paige, not join her," she said.

Piper glanced over at her sister's face, pinched with fear, and eased up on the accelerator, slowing to a more manageable pace.

"Sorry," she apologized. "Ava didn't say anything else?" she asked.

"No," Phoebe said. "I think that was all she had time for."

"What about Chris?" Piper asked. "Did he say anything before he disappeared?"

"Nothing," Phoebe told her. "He just doubled over in pain and orbed out."

"So, basically, we know nothing," Piper grumbled.

"Yeah," Phoebe said softly. "Piper, I'm scared."

"So am I," Piper admitted.

Suddenly she turned the steering wheel sharply, pulling into the hospital parking lot and slamming on the brakes.

"Let's go," she said, exiting the car and running toward the emergency entrance, Phoebe following closely behind.

"Paige Matthews, where is she?" Piper demanded, going up to the nurse's station.

"Are you a relative?" the nurse asked, not looking up from her computer screen.

"We're her sisters," Phoebe told her.

"Matthews, Matthews," the woman muttered, typing rapidly.

After a moment, she looked up.

"Your sister is still in surgery," she said, sympathy showing on her face. "I'll have Dr. Nikolai contact you the moment she's out."

"She's pregnant," Phoebe said desperately. "Can you tell us anything about the baby?"

"I promise, I will have Dr. Nikolai speak with you the second she gets done in surgery."

"Thanks," Piper muttered.

Suddenly weary, she trudged over to waiting area and sank down in one of the uncomfortable, plastic chairs.

"What are we going to do?" she asked, burying her face in her hands.

"I don't know," Phoebe admitted, sitting down and sighing heavily. "Just wait here and be scared to death, I guess."

"She and Chris could be just fine," she continued, after a moment.

"They might not be," Piper said softly.

"Piper," a voice called out from behind them.

Piper's head whipped around to see Chris and Sam hurrying towards them.

"Is Mom-" Chris started.

"We don't know," Piper said quickly. "Is that were you disappeared to?" she asked, nodding at Sam.

"I'm the last resort," Sam said quietly. "In case we need a miracle."

"Definitely thelast resort," Piper said exchanging a look with Phoebe. "I don't think we can handle another Dr. Williamson."

"Can't you sense Paige?" Phoebe asked Chris. "I mean, she can sense you through the baby. Can't you do the same thing in reverse?"

"I could tell she was in trouble, before," Chris said slowly, "but I can't sense anything now."

"That doesn't mean anything's wrong," Sam interjected quickly, seeing the panic grow on Piper and Phoebe's face.

"What does it mean?" Chris asked.

"It could be that's she just so far under the anesthesia that she can't be sensed," Sam explained.

"So, what do we do now?" Phoebe asked, looking around at the crowded waiting room.

"We sit and we wait," Piper said, sighing.

Phoebe nodded and, leaning her head back, closed her eyes. The last thing she heard was Sam and Chris settling down on either side of her.

"Phoebe?"

Phoebe jerked awake and whipped her head around to stare at Ava Nikolai.

"It's been three hours!" she exclaimed, looking at her watch. Sam jumped to his feet beside her.

"I know, and I'm sorry," Ava said, apologetically. "Took a little longer in Surgery than expected. Where's Piper?"

"She went with Chris to the cafeteria to get some coffee," Sam explained, as Phoebe looked quickly for the two in question. "How are Paige and the baby?"

"They're doing fine," Ava said, smiling reassuringly.

"Thank God," Phoebe breathed, relieved. Beside her, Sam let out the breath he'd been unconsciously holding.

"Do we have news?" Piper asked, as she and Chris hurried forward, toting cups of coffee.

"As I was telling Phoebe," Ava said, "Paige and her baby are going to be fine."

"When can we see her?" Chris asked, worry still lingering in his tone.

"I'll take you to see her as soon as she's been moved to Recovery," Ava said.

Leaning toward Phoebe, she whispered, "Who're the guys?"

"Father and future son," Phoebe replied quietly. Ava raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"So, you'll know if anything happens to the baby before I do?" she asked.

"Pretty much," Phoebe said.

"Good to know," Ava said. "Sorry to leave you like this, but I've got other patients to check on."

"Give me that coffee," Phoebe said, shattering the silence that followed her departure. "I'm suddenly very worn out and I need caffeine."

"You and me, both," Piper replied.

She took a sip, and then blushed as her stomach rumbled loudly.

"How about we go back to the cafeteria and get something to eat while we wait for Ava?" Sam suggested.

"Good idea," Piper said. "I want to call home, anyway. See if Wyatt is giving the nanny any trouble."

* * *

The demon shimmered into the Manor, into Piper's empty bedroom, and snuck silently out into the hallway. Creeping down the hall, he made his way to Wyatt's nursery. Stopping in the doorway, he paused, smiling slightly as the baby noticed him, cooing happily.

"Aaii," Wyatt cried delightedly, holding his arms out.

"Hello, Wyatt," Vicus said, coming closer. "Have you missed me?"

Wyatt gave him a sloppy smile, revealing two rows of tiny teeth. He thrust his hands out insistently, wanting to be picked up. Vicus smiled indulgently, swinging him up into the air and settling him on his hip.

"Be," Wyatt babbled, waving a stuffed bear in his face.

"That's a wonderful toy," Vicus told him. "May I see it?"

Wyatt pouted, hugging the bear closer, as he looked suspiciously at Vicus. The demon waited, patiently.

"That's all right," he said, after a few moments. "I've got all the time in the world. And you'll trust me soon enough."

Giving up on the bear for the time being, Vicus walked around the room, rocking Wyatt in his arms and talking to him quietly. Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching the nursery, and he put Wyatt hurriedly back into his crib.

"Are you hungry, little one?" Meluisa asked, coming into the room carrying a bottle.

Vicus sneered at the elf, sorely tempted to blast her where she stood. Then, he curbed the impulse and smiled down at Wyatt.

"I'll be back, Wyatt," he whispered.

About to pick Wyatt up and take him over to the rocking chair, Meluisa turned and looked at the spot where Vicus was standing.

"Something doesn't feel right," she said, turning her attention back to her charge. "Maybe I should give your mommy a call."

"Not the witches," Vicus muttered, darkly. "I can't let you alert them."

Moving swiftly, he lashed out, sending the elf flying across the room with the force of his blow. She slumped weakly against the wall, moaning softly in pain. Vicus formed an energy ball in the palm of his hand and readied it to throw at the elf. Then, he crushed it and looked regretfully at her prone form.

"I can't," he said. "Not if I don't want the witches to become suspicious. No, this will have to do until I can get someone else to deal with you."

He shimmered out of existence just as the phone started to ring insistently.

* * *

"Something's wrong," Piper declared, clicking off her cell phone. "Meluisa's not answering."

"Piper, you need to give it a little time," Phoebe protested. "Let the phone ring a few times and give her the chance to answer it."

"Phoebe, it rang six times and then the machine picked up," Piper said.

"Maybe she just took Wyatt out for a walk," Sam suggested.

"Not without telling me, first, she wouldn't," Piper insisted. "Something's wrong at home."

"I'll orb home and check on Wyatt," Chris said. "And if something is wrong, I'll deal with it."

"Thank you, Chris," Piper said, gratefully.

"Just keep an eye on Mom for me," Chris said.

"There's a janitor's closet down the hall and to the right," Phoebe told him.

"Thanks," Chris replied, walking quickly out of the cafeteria.

"I'm sure everything's fine," Phoebe told Piper, reassuringly, after Chris had left.

"I hope so," Piper said. "I just can't help but be worried."

"It's a parent's prerogative," Sam said understandingly.

"You probably feel the same way about Paige, right?" Piper asked.

Sam nodded, wearily.

"Dr. Nikolai can say as many times as she likes that Paige is going to be fine, but I won't believe it until I see her for myself," he said.

"Paige is strong," Phoebe said. "After everything she's gone through, a little car accident isn't going to slow her down."

"I hope you're right," Sam said.

"I know she is," Ava said, from the cafeteria doorway. "You can see Paige, now," she added, as the three turned to face her.

"She's in a private room up on the third floor," Ava told them, as they walked down the hallway toward the elevator.

"I figured it would be best, just in case the pain medicine she's on makes her lose control of her powers."

"Good thinking," Piper said. "Especially since Paige loses control of her powers when she takes cough medicine."

"What if she loses control in front of a nurse or someone?" Phoebe asked, worriedly. "We really can't afford to expose magic like that."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Piper scolded. "Positive thoughts only, Phoebes."

"Right," Phoebe said, firmly, as they paused before the door to Paige's room. "Ava, is Paige-"

"When she was brought in, she had severe injuries, including internal bleeding," Ava told her. "According to the ambulance crew, her car was completely wrapped around a telephone pole. They had to use the Jaws of Life just to get her out safely."

"Oh my God," Phoebe whispered, horrified.

"Amazingly enough," Ava continued, quietly, "Paige made it through surgery with flying colors. A few of my coworkers were swearing that her internal injuries seemed to heal themselves."

"That's probably fetal Chris," Piper said, smiling. "Halliwell babies are good at protecting their mommies."

"Well, it seems to be mutual," Ava said. "As far as I can tell, Paige channeled her magic into protecting her baby during the accident. There wasn't a scratch or bruise on him. The placenta wasn't even damaged."

"So, when we walk in there, she's not going to be hooked up to a bunch of tubes and stuff?" Phoebe asked.

"I've got her on an IV drip for the blood loss, and she and the baby are both hooked up to heart monitors," Ava said, reassuringly. "But like I said, she seems to be healing herself."

"That's wonderful," Phoebe said, but worry was still written on her face.

"Phoebe," Piper cautioned, "remember what I told you."

"Right," Phoebe said, determinedly. "Think happy thoughts."

"That's the spirit, Tinkerbell," Piper teased her, gently. Phoebe stuck her tongue out at her sister.

"Play nice," Paige said, sleepily, smiling at her sisters as they entered the room.

"Hey," Piper said, as they all hugged her gently. "You're awake."

"How do you feel?" Ava asked, taking Paige's chart from the end of her bed.

"Kind of hazy," Paige replied. "Those were some knockout drugs you gave me."

"Why do you say that?" Ava asked, making a quick notation as she examined the monitors beeping softly by Paige's head.

"By the way," she added, "your baby's heartbeat is nice and strong, and he's quite a handsome young man."

"Thanks," Paige said.

"What was that you were saying about the anesthetics?" Sam asked.

"Just that they're really effective," Paige replied. "They haven't worn off yet."

"They should have," Ava said, sharply, looking at her. "What makes you think they haven't?"

"I can't move my legs," Paige said, slowly, fear creeping onto her face. "I can barely feel them. I-I thought it was just the anesthetic-"

"Ava, what's going on?" Piper asked, glaring at the doctor.

"There's a chance that your spinal nerves were damaged in the accident," Ava said. "Unfortunately, it wasn't something we could test for while you were under."

"So test now," Phoebe insisted.

"I've got a better idea," Ava said.

Walking across the room, she shut the door and locked it, the latch clicking softly into place.

"You're a Whitelighter," she continued, looking at Sam. "Heal her."

"What about exposure?" Sam asked.

He asked it halfheartedly, though, and was already pulling the sheet away to expose Paige's legs.

"Screw exposure," Piper snapped.

Sam nodded and bent over Paige's legs. A warm glow was emitted from his hands, but Paige shortly shook her head. Frustration was evident on her expression.

"It's not working," she said, tearfully.

"It has to," Piper said. Turning on Sam, she snapped, "Why isn't it working?"

"You've already learned that sometimes Healing isn't meant to happen," he said, unhappily. "Apparently, the Elders have decided that this is one of those times."

"Why wouldn't They let you Heal Paige?" Phoebe demanded, angrily.

"I don't know," Sam said. His shoulders slumped in defeat. "Paige, honey, I'm so sorry."

"Ava, maybe you should run those tests, now," Paige said, quietly.

* * *

"Hello?" Chris called, moving slowly, cautiously, through the upper story of the Manor. "Meluisa?"

He continued slowly toward Wyatt's nursery, when he heard his brother cry out fearfully. Throwing caution to the wind, Chris ran toward Wyatt's room, stopping cold when he saw a demon hovering over the unconscious nanny, her clawed hands extended over her exposed throat.

"Hey!" he yelled, startling the demon.

The demon turned to face him and leered, baring yellow, pointed teeth.

"Welcome to my parlor," she hissed, her voice low and throaty.

"Don't Arachnae Demons ever get tired of that line?" Chris asked glibly, easing his way into the room to get between the demon and his brother.

"Or," he continued, still trying to distract her, "is your species so dim that you can only parrot what you've picked up from your mortal victims?"

"You're fast with words, witch," the Arachnae said. "Let's see if you're as fast with your actions."

Spinning back to her victim, she swiped her claws at Meluisa, aiming for her jugular. With a yell, Chris lunged forward, grabbing the Arachnae's armand wrenching her away. His momentum propelled them out into the hallway, and he wrestled her to the ground.

Hissing in fury, the Arachnae lashed out, her claws slicing into the side of Chris's neck. He cried out in pain and the demon kicked him away.

"Let's see your clever words get you out of this one, witch," she told him, disappearing in a flash of light.

Chris blinked to clear his vision, which had gone blurry, and wiped at the blood dripping from his neck. His hand came away sticky with blood and a gooey green mucus.

_'That can't possibly be good,'_ he thought, examining the substance closely.

Suddenly, he heard a groan from the other room, and he bolted to his feet. Hurrying into Wyatt's nursery, he saw Meluisa struggling to stand.

"Easy, easy," he said, helping her to her feet. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," Meluisa said, slowly. Looking up at him, her forest green eyes widened.

"You're bleeding!" she exclaimed. "What happened?"

"The Arachnae got me," he said, ruefully. At her perplexed look, he added, "You know, the demon that knocked you out."

"It was no Arachnae that attacked me," Meluisa said, indignantly.

"Then, what was it?" Chris asked.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I'd come in to give the baby a bottle, and I sensed _something_, I don't know what. The next thing I knew, I woke up and saw you standing over me."

"I think, whoever it was, they were after Wyatt," she said, worriedly.

"They're not going to touch him," Chris said. "Whoever this demon was, they certainly got a few good whacks in," he added, examining her face critically.

He probed a large bruise on her cheek, and she grimaced in pain.

"I'll make you a deal," Chris said. "I'll help you with your injuries if you'll help me with mine."

"Deal," Meluisa said. "Get Wyatt. I'll meet you in the kitchen with the first aid supplies."

Ten minutes later, Wyatt sat in his highchair, watching with interest as his caretakers poked and prodded each other, gingerly.

"Ouch," Chris muttered, as Meluisa pressed an alcohol-soaked cotton swab to the gashes on his neck.

"Tough it out," she snapped, irritably. "I'm almost done."

"Good," Chris said. "When we're done here, I think you should go back to your family. I'm going to take Wyatt with me when I go back to the hospital. Whoever this mystery demon is, he won't dare challenge the Power of Three."

"Right," Meluisa agreed. "Tilt your head this way," she added, pushing his head to the right.

Chris obliged, and Meluisa pressed a cotton pad to his wound, bandaging it quickly and efficiently.

"There," she said, apparently satisfied with her handiwork. "You're done."

"Then lean forward," Chris instructed.

He gave a final stir to the bruise ointment he'd been making, and scooped a glob of it onto his fingers. He smoothed it gently over the side of her face, and frowned critically.

"It'll do," he said. "How's it feel?"

"Cold," Meluisa told him.

"That means it's working," Chris said.

"Where did you learn to make this?" Meluisa asked, poking curiously at the ointment.

"My mom taught me," Chris said, quietly. Meluisa put her hand on his arm.

"Your mother is a Charmed One," she told him. "She's incredibly strong. She'll be just fine."

"I know," Chris said. "But I can't help being scared."

"What does your heart tell you to do?" Meluisa asked, quietly.

"That I should trust in a greater Power," he said, after a moment.

Meluisa nodded, disappearing, and Chris turned to Wyatt.

"I think your nanny is really Yoda," he said. "You ready to go?"

"Go!" Wyatt cheered, holding his arms out.

Chris laughed and picked his brother up, holding him snugly against his hip as he orbed to the hospital. When he walked into Paige's room five minutes later, three incredibly somber faces greeted him.

"What's wrong?" he asked, immediately concerned. "Where's Mom?"

"She's with Ava, getting some tests done," Piper told him. "We're not sure what's wrong, yet."

"My God, Chris," Phoebe gasped, catching sight of his neck. "What happened?"

"Arachnae Demon," he said. "It tried to kill Meluisa."

"Wyatt?" Piper asked, reaching for her son.

"He's fine," Chris assured her. "The demon didn't touch him."

"Thank God," Phoebe said, hugging her nephew. "Is that why Meluisa wouldn't answer the phone?"

"Actually, she seems to have been attacked by a different demon," Chris said. "The Arachnae only tried to kill her."

"Those scratches," Sam said, eyeing the bandage. "How bad are they?"

"Not too bad, Grandpa," Chris assured him. "I've had worse from the family cat."

"Still," Sam insisted. "I think I should Heal them, just to be on the safe side."

"Sure," Chris said, obligingly, walking over and gently pulling the bandage off.

Sam held his hand over the wound, but was distracted by the sound of wheels on the linoleum.

"Mom!" Chris exclaimed, refastening the bandage and spinning to face her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm in one piece," she said, smiling tiredly.

"What about the tests?" Piper asked, worriedly.

"Ava won't tell me," she said, shooting the doctor a dirty look.

"I wanted to wait until you were with your family, again," Ava said. "Paige, I'm sorry. Your second and third sacral nerves have been almost completely severed, resulting in complete paralysis and partial paresis of your lower limbs. The chances of you ever walking again are slim."

"What?" Phoebe asked, confused.

"Complete loss of motor function and partial loss of sensation," Paige said quietly, fighting to hold back the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks.

"So, I'm paralyzed," she continued."Permanently."

"There is a chance that you could walk again," Ava hastened to reassure her. "With intense physical therapy, of course."

"You said yourself that my chances are slim," Paige reminded her.

"A chance is a chance, sis," Phoebe said, quietly. "Since when are you a quitter?"

"Did I say I was giving up?" Paige retorted, anger burning off the tears. "What do I have to do, Ava?"

"I'm going to set you up with our best physical therapist," Ava said. "I'll also have him show you how to maneuver the electric wheelchair you'll be using."

"Wheelchair," Paige said, sadly. "I never thought it would come to this."

She stared helplessly down at her hands as her family gathered closely around.

"What did you say this therapist's name was?" she asked, after a long moment of silence.

"Demetri Langdon," Ava said. Seeing a shadow cross Paige's face, she asked, "Is something wrong?"

"No, of course not," Paige said quickly, hoping for something to change the subject. Suddenly, she saw Chris's neck.

"What happened?" she demanded.

"It was just a demon," Chris said evasively. Paige pinned him with a sharp look.

"It's never _just_ a demon with this family," she told him, sternly.

"Well, I know the demon that did it, so I can vanquish it as soon as I get to the Book," Chris retorted.

"Then get going," Paige said. Looking at her family, she added, "I'm certainly not going anywhere, and there's no excuse for you guys not to go home and hunt down this demon."

"She's got a point," Piper said, reasonably.

"Plus, if we go home, we can summon Leo and kick his butt," Phoebe said in an undertone.

"I'll stay here," Sam added, quietly. "There's nothing I can do to help in the demon hunt, and I can't leave Paige."

"Right," Piper said. "Come on, you two. We've got a demon to vanquish."

"Be careful," Paige said, as they walked out the door. "I don't want any of you joining me."

* * *

"What did you say this demon was?" Piper asked, flipping through the pages of the Book of Shadows?"

"She's an Arachnae Demon," Chris said. "If I remember correctly, that particular entry is between the one for the Harpy and the one for the Bunyip."

"Found it," Piper said, triumphantly, a few seconds later. "Nasty creatures, aren't they?" she asked, reading the entry.

"What's it say?" Phoebe asked, from where she was sitting with Wyatt.

"Arachnae Demons are mid-level demons that live and hunt solo, like their namesake," Piper read aloud. "They also possess the ability to shape-shift into spiders. They survive by feeding off of the life force of mortal beings, and with a continuous supply, can live forever. Their claws emit a poison which slowly kills mortals, but transforms magical beings into Arachnae."

Her voice trailed off in horror and she spun to look at Chris. His eyes gleamed a sickly red color, and when he smiled, she could see fangs protruding from his mouth.

"Surprise," he hissed, lunging at her.

Piper threw her hands up instinctively, and Chris froze in mid-stride. There was a frenzied look in his eyes, and a greenish liquid dripped from his outstretched claws, the droplets suspended in midair.

Without missing a beat, Phoebe hurried forward and collected the drops in a small vial.

"What's that for?" Piper asked.

"Antidote," Phoebe informed her. "If I can brew a potion that will neutralize this," she said, waving the sample, "maybe I can figure out a way to cure Chris."

"Get to the kitchen and get working," Piper said tersely. "I'm going to figure out a way to contain Chris."

"What about a crystal cage?" Phoebe suggested.

"Too risky," Piper said. "If Chris turns into a spider, there's a chance he could slip past the crystals' defenses."

"So, what's your plan?" Phoebe asked. "Just to keep freezing him?"

"If that's what it comes to, yeah," Piper said.

"If you need me," Phoebe said, moving to the door, "I'll be down in the kitchen."

"Hurry," Piper said, looking worriedly at her nephew. "I don't know how much time Chris has."

"Right," Phoebe said, hurrying down the stairs to the kitchen.

Piper sighed heavily and turned her attention back to the Book, looking for anything that could help Chris. After a few minutes, she slammed the Book shut in frustration, and glared up at the ceiling.

"Leo!" she called. "Leo, get down here!"

"Blessed be, Piper," Leo said, serenely, as he orbed into the attic. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yeah," Piper said, shortly, nodding at Chris. "You can help me with him."

"What happened to him?" Leo asked.

"He's been infected by an Arachnae Demon," Piper said, concerned. "Phoebe's down in the kitchen making an antidote, but I don't know if it'll be enough."

"Unfortunately," Leo said, "no witch has ever been able to develop an antidote to the Arachnae's poison. I'm afraid there's nothing that can be done for Chris."

"Bull," Piper snarled. "I'm not letting anything happen to him."

"Piper, I understand your concern," Leo began, but Piper cut him off, irritably.

"You don't get it, Leo," she snapped. "Chris isn't just some random witch-Whitelighter from the future. He's your son."

Leo's mouth fell open in shock, and he gaped in amazement.

"You-you're pregnant?" he gasped finally, staring at her.

"Yes," Piper told him, curtly. "But not with Chris."

"I don't understand," Leo said, sinking weakly down onto the couch. "How can Chris be my son if you're not pregnant with him?"

"The Corridor," Piper prompted. "You and Paige, love potion, anything ringing a bell, here?"

"Oh no," Leo said, realization dawning. "Paige is pregnant? With my son?"

"Bingo," Piper told him.

"You're both pregnant," Leo said, her earlier words catching up with him.

"About a month and a half along," Piper said, quietly. "We're due at the same time."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Leo asked, a plaintive note in his voice.

"You were so determined to be the model Elder, that we just didn't know how we could tell you," Piper said, sitting down beside him. "You felt so badly, leaving Wyatt. How would you have felt knowing you were leaving two unborn children behind?"

"I'm going to be a daddy," Leo said, wonder creeping into his voice.

"Not a very good one," a voice growled.

Piper turned to see Chris standing there, no longer frozen. Fresh poison dripped from his claws, and his face was contorted with rage. Piper flicked her hands out, but Chris simply shrugged, brushing the freeze off like he would a leaf.

"Nice try," he said, smiling maliciously.

"Chris, you can fight this," Piper pleaded.

"Chris, you don't have to give in to evil, like this," Leo added.

"Shut up," Chris snarled, glaring at him furiously.

"Chris," Piper said, but Chris simply gestured, pinning her telekinetically against the couch.

Storming over to Leo, he grabbed his robes and jerked him forward, closing a hand over Leo's throat. Snarling viciously, he orbed out, Leo helpless in his grasp, leaving Piper gaping after them in astonishment.

* * *

The pair came out of the orb, and Chris tossed Leo away from him, angrily. Leo staggered to his feet, coughing and massaging his throat, as he looked around wildly.

"Chris, where are we?" he wheezed, taking in his dark, dank surroundings.

"The last place you'll ever see," Chris told him, circling him slowly.

Leo turned, watching his son warily.

"There's still good in you," he insisted, desperately. "You wouldn't have been able to orb, otherwise."

"You don't get to talk," Chris said.

He extended a hand, and a force knocked Leo back against the cave wall, as a sticky substance glued his hands to the wall.

"You've been talking too much," Chris hissed. "Now, you're going to listen."

"Chris, why do you hate me?" Leo asked, ignoring the fury brewing in his son's eyes. "What did I do to hurt you?"

"What didn't you do?" Chris snarled.

"Did I miss a school play?" Leo pleaded, trying to understand. "Ground you? Play favorites with Wyatt?"

"You took me away from Mom just to save your own hide, and then you abandoned me!" Chris roared.

"What are you talking about?" Leo asked, confused.

"You were never there," Chris continued, beginning to pace, agitatedly. "You never cared about me, you only changed reality so that you wouldn't lose Piper. Mom could have died, today, and you wouldn't help her. All you care about is yourself!"

"Maybe you," Leo began, but Chris cut him off with a snarl.

"Shut up!" he yelled, backhanding him viciously.

Leo groaned as his head snapped around from the force of the blow. Another blow tore at the webbing binding him to the wall, and sent him flying across the cave. Pushing himself off the floor, Leo put a hand to his mouth, and stared at the blood that covered his hand.

"Chris, stop this," he pleaded, softly, scrambling backwards to get away from him.

"Not until you pay," Chris said, darkly, advancing slowly on the fallen Elder.

* * *

"You really need to hurry on that antidote," Piper said, running into the kitchen.

"I'm going as fast as I can," Phoebe said. "I just don't want to make any mistakes. Aren't you supposed to be keeping an eye on Chris?" she added, looking up.

"It's kind of a moot point, now," Piper informed her, "considering that Chris fought through my freeze and kidnapped Leo."

"What?" Phoebe yelped, spinning around.

"And Chris wasn't exactly sane when he did it," Piper continued, "so Leo's not in the safest position, right now."

"Especially considering the grudge Chris has against him," Phoebe reminded her, turning back to the potion. "Hand me the crushed mandrake."

Piper complied, and Phoebe added it to the bubbling concoction, watching as it turned from green to sapphire blue. Taking an eyedropper, Phoebe drew up some of the potion and released it inside a vial with some of the Arachnae poison inside.

The two liquids flowed together, turning colorless after a moment. Phoebe leaned closer and sniffed cautiously, breathing a sigh of relief as she did.

"Colorless and odorless," she said, triumphantly. "It worked."

"What did it do?" Piper asked, curiously.

"It neutralizes the poison into water," Phoebe said, sounding smug. "And it's fast acting, which means we won't have long to wait after dosing Chris."

"About that," Piper said. "You saw what he was like. Do you really want to try to pour that down his throat?"

"Damn. I knew there was going to be a hitch," Phoebe muttered. "Okay, so what do we do?"

"Paige," Piper said, after a moment. "We have Paige drink it."

"What good will that do?" Phoebe asked.

"If Paige drinks the antidote, it will inoculate fetal Chris against the poison, which should cure big Chris," Piper explained.

"I'll take this to Paige," Phoebe said, grabbing an empty vial and filling it with the antidote. "You find Chris and try to keep him from killing Leo."

"Got it," Piper said, grabbing a crystal off the table and heading up to the attic to get a map.

Phoebe snagged her car keys off the side table by the door, and fifteen minutes later, pulled into the hospital parking lot.

"Phoebe, what's up?" Paige asked, looking at her in surprise as she came into the room.

"Okay, here goes," Phoebe said, taking a deep breath, "Chris was infected by the Arachnae, which turned him into one, and since we can't get this antidote down his throat, we need you to drink it to inoculate him."

"Give it here," Paige said, reaching impatiently for the vial.

Phoebe handed it over, and she downed it in one gulp, shuddering as she did so.

"God, that's awful," she said. "Where's Chris?"

"Piper's looking for him, now," Phoebe admitted. "He kind of kidnapped Leo and then left."

"Great," Paige muttered. "I swear, nothing else better go wrong today."

Phoebe was about to speak up, when her cell phone rang.

"Hello?" she said.

"Phoebe, I found Chris," Piper said, quickly. "He's in the forest outside Golden Gate Park. He's probably holed up in a cave, somewhere."

"I can be there in ten minutes," Phoebe said, clicking off her phone. "I gotta go," she continued. "Piper found Chris."

"I'm coming with you," Paige said.

"Paige, you can't even walk!" Phoebe protested.

"I've got that," Paige said, nodding at the wheelchair parked near the bed. "Besides, I can orb us both there faster than you could drive."

"Paige-" Phoebe protested.

"He is my son, Phoebe," Paige interrupted her, steel in her voice. "I am not just going to sit around while he needs my help."

"Then, let's go," Phoebe said.

She moved to help Paige into the wheelchair, but her sister was already deftly maneuvering herself into the seat.

"I'm a quick study," she explained, motoring across the room to join her sister.

"Can you keep people from coming in here and finding Paige gone?" Phoebe asked Sam. He nodded.

"Be careful," he cautioned.

"We will be," Paige promised, taking Phoebe's arm and orbing them away.

They rematerialized in front of a cave entrance, just as Piper jogged up from a side path.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed at Paige.

"Never mind that," Paige said, impatiently. "What is that stuff?" she asked, gesturing to a sheen of white that covered the entrance to the cave.

"Webbing, from the look of it," Piper said, poking it cautiously with a stick.

She let go, and the stick hung in midair, stuck to the webbing. Stepping back, Piper raised her hands and sent a blast of energy at the webbing. A charred spot appeared, but that was all. She tried again, but only got the same result.

"Let me try," Paige said, rolling forward.

Raising a hand, she focused, a bolt of light leaving her palm and striking the webbing. It created a small hole where one of Piper's blasts had hit.

"Try again, Piper," Phoebe suggested.

Piper did, and was rewarded when the webbing melted away beneath the force of her attack. She and her sisters hurried inside, stopping cold when they saw Chris attacking Leo.

"Chris, stop!" Paige yelled.

Chris jerked in surprise, and stared at her.

"Mom?" he said, confused.

Releasing Leo, he stepped back and looked at his hands, which were covered in blood and bruises. Leo had a corresponding cut on his lip, where the blood had come from, and he had a black eye and bruised cheek.

"What are you doing here?" Chris asked, coming over to her.

"Stopping you from doing something you'll regret, later," she replied, softly. "Come on, honey. Let's go."

She shot a look at Piper, who added, "I can drive Phoebe and Leo back. My Jeep's not too far from here."

Paige nodded, and she and Chris orbed away.

"Thanks," Leo said, slumping wearily in relief. "I didn't know how much longer I could hold him off."

"Don't thank us, yet, Buster," Phoebe said, sternly. "We've got a lot of things to discuss with you."

"Like why the Elders won't let Sam Heal Paige's spine," Piper told him, leading the way out to her car.

* * *

A few hours later, Leo orbed up to the top of the Golden Gate Bridge, and found Chris sitting on one of the cables.

"Can we talk?" he asked, quietly.

"There's nothing to talk about," Chris said.

"I think there is," Leo said. "You see, Piper and Phoebe just got done chewing me out, and I finally understand why you're so angry with me."

"Oh, you do, do you?" Chris retorted.

"Chris, I don't know why I took you away from Paige, in your past," Leo said. "I haven't become that person; I don't know why he would do such a thing."

"You're going to," Chris said, angrily.

"But I don't want to," Leo insisted. "Chris, if I'm going to be a better father, if I'm going to change, I'm going to need your help."

"Isn't it possible that you didn't just come back to save Wyatt," he continued, softly. "Maybe you came back to save us?"

"Maybe," Chris grudgingly acknowledged.

He fell silent, and Leo groped for something to say, to fill the looming silence.

"Can anyone see you up here?" he asked, finally.

"No," Chris replied, a small smile creeping onto his face at the familiar words. "But you've gotta look pretty stupid, talking to yourself."

* * *

Three days later, Piper parked a van in the driveway, and the side door swung open. Pressing a button, Piper lowered the ramp and Paige wheeled herself onto the concrete.

"I can't believe the paper just gave us a wheelchair-accessible van," she said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Not the paper," Phoebe corrected. "Jason bought this and had it sent over, after Elise told him what had happened."

"Jason, huh?" Piper teased her. "Does that mean the two of you might be getting back together?"

"I don't know," Phoebe said, honestly. "And I don't care. Right now, it's just enough that he's willing to be friends."

"Well, whatever his motivation, I owe him, and Elise, so much," Paige said. "I mean, he even had hand brakes installed. Now, I can actually drive myself places."

"Well, the surprises aren't over, yet," Phoebe said. "Close your eyes."

Paige did as requested, then opened them in surprise a few moments later as she felt herself being pushed up an incline.

"Where did this come from?" she cried, looking down at the wooden ramp she was resting on.

"Darryl, Leo, and I built it," Chris said, proudly, coming out of the house with the other men in tow. "Not bad for three days work, huh?"

"It's great!" Paige told him, tears springing to her eyes. "I love it."

"Can't you call him Dad?" Phoebe asked Chris, nodding at Leo, as Paige wiped at her eyes.

"We've decided to start things over," Leo interjected. "We're taking this one step at a time."

"One step at a time," Paige repeated. "You sound like Demetri."

"You're already on a first name basis with your therapist?" Piper asked, puzzled. "You haven't even met the guy."

"Actually, I've known him for years," Paige admitted, reluctantly.

"Since when?" Phoebe asked.

"Since I was Mrs. Demetri Langdon," Paige said, in a tiny voice.

Around her, everyone stared, shock and astonishment clear on their faces.

"That's it," Piper declared. "We're going inside and you're not budging until you tell us everything."

"Yeah," Phoebe added, mock glaring at her baby sister.

As the three went inside, with Leo following behind, Darryl grabbed Chris' arm.

"Is this Demetri guy your future stepfather, or something?" he asked, in an undertone.

"Now, Darryl," Chris said, "that would be telling."

He laughed and ducked the blow Darryl mimed at his head, and then watched him walk to his car. Then, he went inside and shut the door behind him, the latch clicking softly into place.


	6. Web of Lies

**Chapter Seven: Web of Lies**

"You told them we were married?"

Paige winced as Demetri involuntarily pinched her leg while he slowly straightened it out.

"Ouch," she complained.

"Sorry," Demetri said, immediately contrite. "You told them we were married?"

"You said that, already," Paige informed him. "And, yes, I did."

"Why?" Demetri demanded.

"Because they're my family," Paige told him. "You know how family is."

Demetri fell silent, continuing to help her with her physical therapy exercises. He spoke again after a few minutes.

"How much did you tell them?" he asked, quietly.

"I told them we got married in high school, and divorced soon after," Paige said. "Nothing more."

"Are you sure?" Demetri pressed, anxiously.

"It was my legs that were damaged, not my brain!" Paige exploded, furiously. "Why don't you believe that I'm telling the truth?"

"There are just some things that should be kept private," Demetri protested, weakly.

"And this is just one more thing to sweep under the rug, right?" Paige said, disgustedly. "Are we almost done?"

"Almost," Demetri replied.

Ten minutes later, he lowered her leg gently to the ground, and sighed as he straightened up.

"We're done for today," he said, handing her a towel to wipe the sweat off with. "Will I be seeing you tomorrow?"

"I'm not so angry that I'd be stupid enough to skip therapy," Paige said. "I'll be here."

Moving deftly, she maneuvered herself into her wheelchair, Demetri watching her every move, critically. Locking her legs into the supports, Paige slowly wheeled herself to the door.

"Paige," Demetri said, softly, stopping her as she was about to go out the door.

"What?" Paige asked, without turning around to face him.

"I do think about her," he said. "And a part of me dies every day she's gone."

* * *

"Paige, is that you?"

Paige smiled, hearing Piper's voice coming from the kitchen.

"How'd you know it was me?" she asked, going to the doorway.

"You squeak," Piper teased, gently.

"So buy some WD-40," Paige retorted, cheerfully.

"How was therapy?" Piper asked, grinning.

"It was fine, I guess," Paige said, nonchalantly.

"How was Demetri?" Phoebe perked, from her seat at the counter.

Her words dashed any hopes Paige had of forgetting her conversation with her ex.

"He's okay," she said, hedged, finally.

"Just okay?" Piper asked, not picking up on Paige's discomfort.

"No whirlwind romance between the hunky therapist and his patient?" Phoebe teased.

"Definitely not," Paige stated, firmly. "And how do you know what Demetri looks like?"

"I sort of spied on him before you went to your session today," Phoebe admitted, sheepishly.

"Phoebe!" Piper scolded.

"What?" Phoebe said, defensively. "I wanted to see the guy who's going to help Paige walk again, to make sure he wasn't a serial killer or a demon. And I admit, I was curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat," Piper reminded her.

"Yeah, but this was definitely worth it," Phoebe said, grinning.

"Can we talk about something else?" Paige snapped, angrily, startling her sisters.

"Sweetie, did something go wrong today?" Piper asked, concerned.

"It's nothing," Paige muttered. "I just don't want to talk about Demetri."

"Okay," Phoebe conceded, exchanging a concerned look with Piper. "Hey, have you talked to Chris, today?"

"This morning, before therapy," Paige said. "Why, is something wrong? Where is he?"

"Oh, don't worry. He's up in the attic, looking at the Book of Shadows," Piper hastened to assure her.

"Well, what's the problem?" Paige asked.

"I found his ring in the trash," Phoebe said, quietly.

"His ring to Bianca?" Paige asked, clarifying. Phoebe nodded in affirmation, and she sighed.

"Give me the ring," she said, holding out her hand. "I'll get to the bottom of this. In the meantime, would you two keep your noses out of my business?"

"Okay," Piper said, an innocent look on her face.

Then, as she orbed away, she heard Piper's voice.

"So, tell me about the hunky therapist."

Paige chuckled to herself as she rematerialized in the attic, startling Chris, who sat on the sofa, buried in the Book of Shadows.

"Hey, Mom," he said, smiling. "How was therapy?"

"Therapy was fine," Paige told him. Crossing the room, she peered at the Book.

"We vanquished Malvius," she reminded him, gently.

"I know," Chris said. "But I think he was hired by the demon that's after Wyatt. The same with that Darklighter that got you and Leo, and the Arachnae demon from last week."

"What makes you think that?" Paige asked, curiously.

"Just a hunch," Chris said. "Based on the fact that they haven't attacked Wyatt, directly. Just the people who protect him. Us."

"Being demon bait isn't exactly new for us," Paige said.

"It is for Meluisa," Chris said. "Like I said, it's just a hunch."

Paige nodded, falling silent as Chris turned his attention back to the Book.

"You want to tell me about this?" she asked, after a moment, holding out Bianca's ring in the palm of her hand.

"Oh, that," Chris said, glancing at the ring.

"Yeah, that," Paige replied. "Phoebe said she found it in the trash."

"Phoebe's nosy," Chris muttered under his breath.

"She is that," Paige acknowledged. "Chris, if this has anything to do with me and your dad…"

"It doesn't," Chris said instantly.

"Trust me, I'm not under the illusion that you and Leo are going to suddenly fall in love and we'd be the perfect family. After all, the guy did change reality just to stay together with Piper."

"Then what is it?" Paige asked, studying her son closely.

"Wyatt started taking over by terrorizing all of the covens that could possibly threaten him," Chris said softly, by way of answer.

"So, Sam and I got them into hiding and, in return, some of the covens sent their strongest witches to help with the situation. The Phoenix coven sent Bianca."

"That's how you met," Paige said. Chris nodded, sadly.

"At first, we just worked together, but later we fell in love," he continued.

"We dated, as much as we could, anyway, and I asked her to marry me about five months later. She accepted, and then I came back here to change Wyatt. When he sent her to take me back to the future, he killed her for betraying him."

"If you change Wyatt back to good, she won't have died," Paige told him.

"But, I can't bear the thought of not knowing her," Chris said.

"You still might," Paige said, gently.

"I might not," Chris replied, "if Wyatt was the only reason we came together. I just can't risk that kind of pain."

"Sometimes," Paige said, softly, "love is all about the pain."

Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes as her thoughts turned inward, toward the past.

"Mom?" Chris asked, breaking into her reverie. "Mom, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Paige said, smiling brightly. "It's nothing."

"You sure?" Chris asked, suspiciously.

"Of course I'm sure," Paige told him. "So, tell me more about this demon-for-hire theory of yours."

* * *

"So, what are you making?" Piper asked, peering over Phoebe's shoulder.

"Just a yarrow root extract," Phoebe said, casually, shifting to block Piper's view of the stovetop with her body.

"Yarrow root?" Piper asked, suspiciously. "Isn't that a power booster? Which of your powers are you trying to advance?"

Phoebe flushed, guiltily.

"Just premonitions," she muttered, under her breath.

"Phoebe!" Piper scolded. "Need I remind you about personal gain?"

"Look," Phoebe pleaded, turning to her sister.

"Paige has Chris. You have Wyatt and your new baby. And in the future the Crone showed me, I'm going to have a daughter. I just want a little extra help in finding her father."

"So, you're going to boost your premonition power and then what?" Piper asked. "You're going to touch every guy on the face of the Earth in the hopes of having a premonition about the father of your future child?"

"Well, when you put it that way," Phoebe said, sheepishly. "I guess it wasn't a very good plan, was it?"

"Why can't you just let fate take its course?" Piper asked, philosophically, rather than answering.

"I mean, if you're really meant to have this baby, then you're going to meet her father. You just need to have patience."

"You're right," Phoebe admitted, turning the flame off on the stove. "I just look at you and Paige, though, and you seem so happy."

"Clearly, you missed all that time Paige and I spend praying to the porcelain god," Piper told her. "Not to mention the swollen ankles, the crazy cravings, and the non-baby weight gain."

"Oh, yeah," she continued, "pregnancy's a real picnic."

"But there's also feeling the baby kick and getting to hold her in your arms for the first time," Phoebe said, softly. "I want to experience that."

"You will," Piper assured her. "I have no doubt that, when you're ready, you will make a wonderful mother."

"Thanks, sis," Phoebe said, smiling sadly.

"That's so sweet," a voice said from behind them.

Piper and Phoebe turned to see Darryl standing in the doorway.

"Door was open," he explained, jerking his head back toward the entrance.

"That's because we don't lock the door during the middle of the day," Phoebe told him.

"Is something wrong?" Piper asked. "Demonically wrong, I mean?"

"I think so," Darryl said, hoisting his briefcase onto the table. "Are Paige and Chris here?"

"Right here," Paige said, as she and Chris entered the kitchen. "Darryl, what's wrong?"

"Within the past twenty-four hours," he began, "my precinct alone has fielded over a dozen missing person's cases. Missing children, to be specific."

"My God," Paige whispered, horrified.

"Why do you think this is demonic?" Phoebe asked.

"Because each child was safely in their own home when they disappeared," Darryl said.

"In each case, the parents had spoken to or checked on their kids not half an hour before they discovered them missing."

Darryl shook his head, wearily.

"I wouldn't have even come to you guys if this hadn't happened twelve times in a row," he continued. "With that many cases, this just doesn't seem natural."

Suddenly, Paige's pager went off, causing everyone to jump.

"Sorry," Paige said, contritely, looking at the screen. "It's work calling. Give me a second."

She went into the other room, already dialing her cell phone. A few minutes later, she returned, a relieved look on her face.

"I take it that means there's no emergency?" Phoebe asked.

"Just one of my cases," Paige replied. "Annalise wanted to know if I could help her pick out paint for her baby's room this weekend."

"Are you an interior decorator or a social worker?" Chris asked, with a laugh.

"I'm whatever they need at the moment," Paige told him. "So, we were talking about demonic disappearances?"

"Where do we start?" Piper asked, picking up the thread of the conversation.

"Book of Shadows," Phoebe said, instantly, but Paige was already shaking her head.

"If there was a child-snatching demon in the Book of Shadows, don't you think at least one of us would have found it?" she asked, logically.

"Chris, especially, considering how long he's pored over it to find the demon that's after Wyatt. A demon like that would be at the top of his list."

Her sisters fell silent, considering the implications. Finally, Piper spoke.

"What are we going to do without the Book?" she asked.

* * *

"Vicus?"

Vicus turned, acknowledging the underling bowing respectfully a few feet away.

"What is it?" he asked.

"One of the children is causing a fuss," the underling said, his tone cautious and fearful. "Shall I-"

"You will do nothing," Vicus snapped, pushing past the underling. "I will deal with this situation."

"There's another thing," the underling squeaked, as Vicus was about to leave the chamber. "A mortal is getting suspicious. He's gone to the Charmed Ones for assistance."

"I know this," Vicus said, turning back to the underling. "Why do you bother me with trivialities?"

"I-I thought you would want to know-" the underling stammered.

Vicus sighed in irritation, and launched a fireball at the underling. He screamed as he blazed into oblivion, and Vicus dusted his hands off in satisfaction.

"He always bored me," he said, to no one in particular.

"You know," a voice drawled, "if you keep killing them, they're going to leave and you won't have any underlings left."

"You're still here," Vicus commented.

"You saved my life," the young man said, stepping out of the shadows. "I will never abandon you for that."

Vicus nodded in acknowledgment.

"You've heard of the dilemma?" he asked, after a moment.

"I have," the young man said, cautiously. "Do you wish me to take care of it?"

"Yes," Vicus said, making up his mind quickly. "Take Paris with you, as well, and use her to lure the mortal away from the Charmed Ones. Then destroy him."

"Yes, Vicus," the young man said, bowing respectfully.

"Oh, and, Hugh?" Vicus said, pausing once again at the entranceway. "Don't mess this one up."

* * *

"No Book of Shadows," Phoebe said, amazement in her voice. "That's got to be a first for us."

"That's nice to know, but it doesn't tell us how we're supposed to find this demon without being able to use the Book," Paige grumbled.

"Well, Chris and I could go down to the Underworld and interrogate random demons," Phoebe offered. "And you and Piper could stay up here and scry for the missing kids."

"Are you forgetting that we're the ones with the offensive powers?" Piper asked, indicating herself and Paige.

"Are you forgetting that you're both pregnant?" Chris countered.

"We're going to forget the whole idea," Paige interrupted. "We're not risking both your lives for something that may or may not work,"

"What other choice do we have?" Phoebe demanded.

"Scrying," Paige retorted. "Just plain scrying. I don't want my sister or my son going into the Underworld and possibly dying."

"I'll go grab a map and a crystal," Piper said, standing and going upstairs to the attic.

"I'll go back with Darryl and get the case files," Chris volunteered.

"Be careful," Paige said.

"I'm going to a police station," Chris said, chuckling. "How much trouble can I get into?"

"Don't even joke about that in this family," Paige told him, sternly.

"I'll be careful," Chris told her, giving her a hug before leaving.

Paige and Phoebe sat in silence for a few moments, before Paige's pager went off a second time.

"Who is it this time?" Phoebe asked, as Paige looked at the screen.

"It's Demetri," she said, puzzled. "I'd better take this."

"Where's Paige?" Piper asked, a few minutes later, as she came down from the attic.

"Phone," Phoebe said, nodding toward the hallway. "Demetri paged her."

"Why?" Piper wanted to know.

"He wants to talk to me," Paige said. She sighed and exhaustion crept onto her face. "He wouldn't say about what; just that it was important."

"Well, then you should go," Piper said.

"Are you sure?" Paige asked. "I mean, I should stay and help."

"Since when does it take three sisters to operate a scrying crystal?" Phoebe asked. "Especially when we have no focus objects."

"Go," Piper urged her. "This will all be here when you get back."

"I won't be long," Paige promised, grabbing the van keys.

* * *

"What are we doing here?"

"We're waiting for that mortal to show up," Hugh said, giving Paris a stern look. "And then you're going to get him to come over here so that we can kill him."

"I meant, here in this alleyway," Paris huffed. "Couldn't one of us just walk into the police station and ask to speak to this Morris person instead of skulking in the shadows? I feel like the villain in a bad B movie."

"One, there's no guarantee that you'd be able to get Morris out of the station and somewhere that we could kill him without a fuss," Hugh told her. "And, two, what have you been doing at the movies?"

"I hate the Underworld," Paris said, her voice perilously close to whining. "It's so boring down there with all those stuffy demons."

"Those stuffy demons are your elders and deserve your respect," Hugh lectured.

"Kiss up," Paris retorted, turning away from him to face the station once again. "Hey, I think someone's coming out."

"That's not Morris," Hugh said, looking over the young, dark-haired man who'd emerged from the shadowed doorway. "Look at the aura; he's just a witch, not a mortal."

But the younger girl had stopped paying attention to him. Instead, she was watching the young man intently, a troubled look in her eyes.

"Something wrong?" Hugh asked, catching the expression on her face.

"I know him," she said, softly. "Or, I feel like I should, anyway. Wait here."

"Paris, get back here!" Hugh hissed, furiously, as Paris jumped up and approached the young man. Predictably, she ignored him.

Normally, Paris walked with an arrogance born of confidence. It came from knowing that she was one of Vicus' special ones, that she was protected and no one would dare harm her. Now, as she prepared to infiltrate the mortal world, her entire demeanor changed.

She slowed her pace down, scuttling nervously rather than striding. Her eyes darted fearfully from place to place, and she huddled within herself, making her clothes suddenly seem two sizes too big. She looked as though she was expecting a beating to come at any minute.

"Please," she whispered, grabbing convulsively at the young man's sleeve. "Please help me."

Startled, the young man looked down at her.

"Help me," she repeated, frantically, before he could speak. "Don't let the demons get me."

"Demons?" the young man said, looking at her in surprise. "I'm sorry, I don't-"

"I know you're a witch!" Paris blurted, clutching desperately at his sleeve. "A demon took me away from my family, but I escaped and now they're coming after me."

The young man closed his eyes, clearly trying to decide if this was a trap or not.

_'Trust me,'_ Paris thought, willing him to believe her. _'I'm telling you the truth.'_

His expression was doubtful for a second. Then, her telepathy overwhelmed him, and he smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry," he said, gently, taking her hand. "Come with me, and I'll keep you safe from the demons."

Paris started to walk with him, but stopped at a voice in her head.

_'Do you have any idea what you're doing?'_ Hugh's thoughts boomed in her mind, making her wince in pain.

_'Of course I do,' _she replied, irritated. _'Go back to Vicus and tell him that I have everything under control.'_

"What's wrong?" the young man asked, concerned, but she ignored him in favor of focusing on her partner.

_'Go, Hugh,' _she urged, when she felt him hesitate.

A second later, she felt him slip away from her mind as he shimmered back down to the Underworld. Satisfied, she turned back to the young man and willed tears to come to her eyes.

"Will I really be safe?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"No one is going to hurt you," the young man vowed. "I promise."

"Where are we going?" she asked, resisting his efforts to pull her further down the streets.

"To the Charmed Ones," he said, her power making him trust her implicitly. "I'm their Whitelighter."

Paris blinked, hardly able to believe her good fortune. She'd only been acting on instinct, and now she was going to be in the Charmed One's sanctuary.

_'Perfect,' _she thought. "Okay," she said aloud, turning back to the young man.

He took both her hands in his, and she could feel herself breaking apart, dematerializing in a wave of orbs. Then, the magic took her over and she felt nothing.

* * *

"Chris, who is this?" Piper asked, coming out of the kitchen with Phoebe in tow as he and his young passenger materialized in the center of the living room.

"Sit right there, okay?" he said to her, pushing her gently to the couch, before crossing the room and joining his family.

"Well?" Phoebe urged, when he didn't immediately launch into an explanation.

"I think she may be one of Darryl's kidnap victims," he said, keeping his voice quiet.

"She approached me outside of the station and begged for my help. She said that demons had taken her away from her family but that, somehow, she managed to get away from them."

"My God," Piper said, staring at the girl in shock. "She must be so terrified. Phoebes, can you sense anything?"

Phoebe didn't answer for a moment as she focused on the girl sitting forlornly on the couch. For a second, her eyes widened in shock, but then slid slightly out of focus when the girl gave her a sharp look.

"She's scared to death," Phoebe said, absently. "Absolutely terrified."

"Are you okay?" Chris asked, noting the strange look on his aunt's face.

"Fine," Phoebe said, shaking her head slightly to clear away the cobwebs. "I'm fine. I just thought for a moment-"

"Thought what?" Piper asked, when Phoebe trailed off, staring into space.

"Nothing," Phoebe said, turning her attention back to them. "I'm probably just being silly."

"Do you know anything about her?" Piper asked Chris, nodding at the girl.

"Nothing," Chris said. "There wasn't time to even get her name."

"Then, let's go get acquainted," Piper said, decisively.

"Phoebe, you want to go in the kitchen and call Paige? If we're going to protect her from the mystery demons, I want the Power of Three under one roof."

"Got it," Phoebe said, spinning on her heel and heading back into the kitchen to grab the cordless phone.

Piper and Chris went over to the girl and sat down in chairs across from her.

"This is Piper Halliwell," Chris said, when the girl looked up at him nervously. "And, I'm Chris Matthews."

"Paris," the girl said, in a voice that was barely a whisper. "My name is Paris."

"Well, Paris," Piper said, soothingly, "do you want to tell us why the demons kidnapped you?"

"I don't know," Paris said, miserably. "All I know is that they took me away from my mom and dad."

"And when was this?" Piper asked, her voice encouraging Paris to continue.

"I was three when they took me away," Paris said. "I'm ten now."

"Seven years," Chris said. "So, she's not one of Darryl's kids, after all."

"Well," Phoebe said, brightly, reentering the room, "I just got a hold of Paige, and she's on her way home."

Noticing the looks on their faces, she stopped in the middle of the room.

"Okay, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Apparently Paris isn't one of the kids that Darryl's looking for," Piper explained.

"What does that mean?" Phoebe asked.

"I don't know yet," Piper replied. Turning back to Paris, she smiled kindly.

"Do you remember anything about your parents?" she asked. "Maybe we can find them and reunite you with them."

"I don't know their names," Paris said, suddenly growing angry. "I was only three; all they were to me was Mommy and Daddy."

"I'm sorry," Piper said, instantly. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"No, I'm sorry," Paris said, contritely. "I shouldn't have yelled. The truth is, I do have something of my parents."

Fishing into a pocket, she pulled out a tattered, heavily creased picture. Without a word, she passed it over to Chris.

"Is this them?" Chris asked, as he unfolded the picture.

Then, he really got a good look at it, and his heart skipped a beat. Wordlessly, his hands shaking, he gave the picture to Piper, before burying his head in his hands.

"Oh my God," Piper breathed, as she and Piper looked at the picture.

At Paige's face smiling up at them, a tiny baby held in her arms. A man, probably Demetri, stood behind them, beaming proudly at the camera as he held his family safely in his arms.

Suddenly, the front door slammed, and Paige wheeled herself into the living room. The man from the photo was right behind her.

"I'm home," she called out, cheerfully. Her sisters stared at her in shock.

* * *

"The mortal still lives, and yet, here you are."

Hugh cringed inwardly, as he approached Vicus.

"I know Lieutenant Morris is still alive," he began, "but there was something with Paris."

"What happened?" Vicus demanded.

"A-a witch came out of the police station," Hugh said hesitantly. "Paris used her telepathy on him and convinced him to take her to wherever he was going."

"Why would Paris go with the witch?" Vicus asked. "What could she possibly be thinking?"

Hugh winced away from Vicus's tone, as he considered how to best word his answer.

"She said that she felt as though she knew the witch," he said, cautiously, hoping he wasn't saying the wrong thing.

"Paris does have good instincts for someone so young," he ventured, when Vicus had remained silent for several long minutes.

"She could be on to a lead," he continued, when no rebuke came his way. "She might find and eliminate the mortal, herself."

"Instincts won't mean anything if the witch discovers who she really is," Vicus said, finally.

"Even if he does," Hugh argued, "he's not going to vanquish her. No good witch would. Harming a child goes against everything they believe in."

"You're right," Vicus admitted.

"And," Hugh ventured, "isn't that why your army is composed of children?"

"The army will mean nothing unless I can get Wyatt to join us," Vicus said.

"And what are the chances of that?" Hugh asked.

"I mean no disrespect," he added, hastily, when Vicus leveled a furious look at him.

"The boy will join us," Vicus told him, decisively. "As will his sister."

"His sister?" Hugh asked, incredulously.

"I have heard from the Crone, herself, that the eldest Charmed One is pregnant, again," Vicus said. "She may not know it yet, but she is going to lose both of her children to me."

He smiled, darkly, as he looked at something only he could see.

"I will have all of their children, in the end."

* * *

"Okay, what's wrong?" Paige asked, taking note of the expressions on everyone's faces.

"Can you explain this?" Piper asked, angrily, standing and shoving a picture at her.

Paige grabbed it reflexively. Then, she saw the subject of the picture and gasped in shock.

"Oh, God, Demetri," she whispered.

"I see it," he replied, dazed.

"Where did you get this?" Paige demanded, pushing past her surprise.

"I gave it to them," a small voice said.

A young girl poked her head out from the sofa, and she smiled, weakly. For the second time in less than a minute, Paige felt her heart skip a beat. Beside her, Demetri clutched her hand, involuntarily, and drew in a sharp breath.

"Paris?" she heard him whisper, raggedly.

Paige tried to speak, but couldn't form words around the knot that had formed in her throat. Tears poured from her eyes faster than she could wipe them away.

Paris stared at them in disbelief for several seconds, then sprinted across the room into Demetri's arms.

"Daddy," she cried, tears cascading down her cheeks.

Then, she turned to Paige and hugged her fiercely.

"I missed you so much, Mom," she whispered against her stomach.

Chris kicked, suddenly, and Paris pulled away from her in surprise.

"What's that?" she asked, staring at her abdomen in astonishment.

"That would be your baby brother," Paige told her, finally finding her voice.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chris stand, abruptly, and practically run up the stairs.

"Chris!" she called, but he ignored her.

"Paige, can we talk to you in the kitchen?" Phoebe asked.

Paige looked at her and was shocked to see anger burning in her sister's eyes.

"Okay," she said, hesitantly. Turning to Paris, she added, "Stay with your dad for a few minutes, okay? I'll be right back."

She followed her sisters into the kitchen and locked the brakes on her chair, facing them.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Oh, I don't know, Paige," Piper snapped. "Maybe that little girl in there who called you Mom?"

"How could you not tell us that you had a daughter?" Phoebe hissed, as Paige sat there, shocked, unable to form a reply. "How could you keep something like this from us?"

"It wasn't a matter of keeping it from you," Paige told them, looking forlornly at the patterned tiles. "It was a matter of keeping it from myself."

"What?" Phoebe asked.

"Up until two minutes ago, I thought Paris was dead," Paige told them, quietly. Her voice cracked sharply and she took a deep breath before continuing.

"Paris had just turned three and she had an ear infection," she said, looking out of the window rather than at her sisters.

"I couldn't afford to miss any classes at college, so Demetri took the day off of work to watch her. I'd only been in class for an hour when a cop came to the door and asked to speak to me. He told me that my daughter had been kidnapped.

"Demetri and I must have looked for months, spending all we had to pay for investigators. We never gave up, even when the police told us that there was no hope of finding her. We just wouldn't, or couldn't, hear them.

"And during this time, our marriage started to fall apart. We were fighting nearly every day. Then, one day, the police told us that they'd found her body, that she was dead. By then, there was nothing left between us, so we got divorced."

"That doesn't explain why you wouldn't tell us about Paris," Piper said. "Why you deliberately lied to us."

"Do you have any idea," Paige snapped, focusing on her sister, "what it's like to stand over a table in the morgue and have to identify the mangled body of your child? To look at what's left after the monsters have finished with her?"

Piper winced at the thought, but Paige wasn't finished.

"I fell apart," she continued.

"I was in the hospital, under sedation, for nearly a week. I was clinically depressed for a year afterward. I didn't start to get my life back together until shortly before I met you two. And the only way I was even able to do that was by locking the pain, and the memories associated with it, away."

"I never told you about Paris, or Demetri, for that matter, because I didn't want to get lost in that depression, again," she whispered. "I was being a coward, not wanting to face that pain again."

"That's not cowardice," Phoebe told her, gently. "That's just human nature."

"I got upset with Demetri this morning," Paige said, as though she hadn't heard Phoebe.

"I was angry that he didn't want to talk about Paris, about what we'd once had, when I was guilty of the very same thing."

"So, what did he want to talk about tonight?" Piper wanted to know.

"He had some very surprising things to say," Paige said.

"He told me that he wanted to reevaluate our relationship, that he wanted to see if we could ever get back what we'd lost. Then, he told me that he's a witch."

"What?" Piper and Phoebe yelped, simultaneously.

"Apparently," Paige continued, "he'd been hiding that fact throughout our entire marriage. Also, it turned out that the reason his family hated me was because they thought that I was a mortal."

"Boy, were they wrong," Piper remarked.

"So, was he okay when you told him about yourself? I'm assuming you did," she added, when Paige looked at her.

"Oh, he's fine with it," Paige said. "So fine, as a matter of fact, that he spent nearly five minutes laughing at the sheer irony of it all."

"At least he's not a demon that you need to vanquish," Phoebe told her.

"Don't say that, you'll jinx it," Paige warned her.

"Where'd Chris go?" Piper asked, suddenly changing the subject.

Closing her eyes, Paige placed a hand over her abdomen and concentrated.

"He's up in the attic," she said, finally. "Avoiding me."

She sighed heavily.

"I guess he's not ready to forgive me, yet."

"He will," Phoebe assured her.

"Have you?" Paige asked, gazing steadily at her sisters.

"How could we not?" Piper said. "After all, it's not like you were deliberately trying to hurt us. You were just trying to protect your heart."

"Thanks," Paige said, smiling weakly.

"Now, let's get out there," Phoebe said, eagerly. "Piper and I want to meet our niece."

"And I want to meet my big sister," Chris said softly, from the doorway.

Paige looked at him in surprise, and he crossed the room to hug her swiftly.

"I heard everything you told Piper and Phoebe," he said, softly. "I can't imagine how you made it through that hell."

"It wasn't easy," Paige admitted, slowly.

"Now it makes sense," Phoebe said, suddenly.

"What does?" Paige asked, looking around at her.

"Why you were so scared about losing Chris," she explained.

"It makes sense that you would be afraid of something like Paris's situation happening with Chris. You couldn't stand the thought of losing another child."

"I'm sorry I couldn't tell you guys sooner about this," Paige said. "I guess I just have a habit of hiding my pain."

"A trait you clearly passed on to your son," Piper said, giving Chris a gentle nudge in the ribs. "Although, it does sort of invalidate your argument."

"What argument?" Paige asked.

"When you said that you thought that environment was more important than biology," Piper reminded her.

"Because that would mean that I had a bigger impact on Chris than you did, when he was growing up."

"In your dreams," Paige retorted, instantly.

"I notice we're all still standing here," Phoebe commented.

Shooting her a dirty look, Paige waved a hand.

"Living room!" she called, and Phoebe disappeared in a swirl of orbs.

"Happy now?" she called out, as Piper and Chris started laughing.

"Ecstatic," came Phoebe's dry reply.

Then, they heard her scream.

"Phoebe!" Piper yelled, as she and Chris sprinted into the other room.

Not wasting a second, Paige orbed into the living room, but was stopped short by what she saw, her heart missing a beat. A demon stood in the middle of the living room, the knife in his hand pressed against Demetri's throat. A thin line of blood already trickled down his neck.

"Don't hurt him," she whispered, desperately.

"Then don't do anything stupid," the demon retorted. "Paris, go get the boy."

"Paris, what are you doing?" Paige gasped, as her daughter started to walk toward the stairs.

"What my father told me to do," she said, simply.

Paige nearly sobbed when she saw her little girl's face, so devoid of all emotion.

"Don't do this," Demetri pleaded, wincing as the knife dug further into his throat.

"Paris, listen to us," Chris said, entreatingly.

In answer, the girl swept out a hand, telekinetically knocking all of them backward. Piper and Phoebe landed, hard, on the couch, and Paige flew out of her wheelchair to crash into Chris, who cushioned her fall to the ground.

Then, Paris orbed away. A few seconds later, she reappeared with Wyatt in her arms.

"No!" Piper screamed, struggling against Paris' power to try andget to her feet. "Put my son down!"

"You should be proud," Vicus said, conversationally, as Paris joined him. "Your son is going to grow up to be a powerful force of evil."

"You can't have him," Piper snarled, still fighting. "Leo!"

"I'm afraid the Elder won't be able to help you," Vicus told her.

Shoving Demetri away from him, he drew Paris against him and shimmered away just as a swirl of orbs heralded Leo's arrival.

At the same time, Paris' hold over them disappeared, and Piper and Phoebe sprang to their feet. Moving slower, Chris lifted Paige up and helped her back into her wheelchair.

"What happened?" Leo demanded, incredulously, looking at the scene around him.

"Wyatt's been kidnapped," Piper told him, her voice cracking with hysterics.

"What?" Leo asked, aghast. "How?"

"It was Paris," Paige whispered, her eyes dull with grief. "She's evil."

"Who's Paris?" Leo asked, but Chris elbowed him hard in the ribcage.

"No," Phoebe said, firmly, causing both of her distraught sisters to look at her in surprise. "Stop this."

"We're going to get your son back," she told Piper.

Looking at Paige, she added, "We're going to get them both back. I promise."


	7. Hell Hath No Fury

**Chapter Seven: Hell Hath No Fury Like a Mother Scorned**

"We're going to get them back," Phoebe said, assuredly, fixing both of her sisters with a pointed look.

"How?" Paige asked, softly, her tone despondent.

"We are not going to let that demon hurt your children," Phoebe continued, overriding her sister.

"Paris is already evil," Demetri said, from where he stood beside Paige, gripping her hands. "How much more can that demon hurt her?"

"Okay, he's not going to get to hurt her further," Phoebe amended.

"It's easy for you to be confident," Piper snapped, furiously. "It's not your child whose life is at stake."

There was a long moment of silence, and then Piper looked away, closing her eyes in grief.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm just so scared."

"We're going to get him back," Leo told her, comfortingly, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"This is not Wyatt's destiny. He's not meant to be evil," he continued.

"I have a little bit of good news," Chris spoke up, quietly. "I recognize that demon."

"What? Who is he?" Piper demanded, desperately, turning quickly to face him, as everyone else stared in amazement.

"His name is Vicus," Chris told them.

"Who is Vicus?" Paige asked, quickly, before everyone else could start jumping on Chris. "And why couldn't we find him in the Book of Shadows?"

"He's not in the Book," Chris continued. "I found him…somewhere else."

"What do you know about him?" Leo asked.

"Vicus is an upper level demon that gathered magical children in order to form an army," Chris recited, closing his eyes to better focus on his memory of the words in question.

"He inspires children to trust him, getting them to serve him completely," he finished.

"Did this thing you read tell you how we vanquished Vicus?" Phoebe asked.

"No," Chris said. "I don't know if you used a spell, or a potion, or what."

"Great," Piper grumbled. "So we know nothing more than we did before."

"Not true," Paige interjected. "We know that Vicus is the most likely suspect for having kidnapped the missing kids."

"So, if we scry for the kids, or for Wyatt, we should be able to find Vicus!" Phoebe said, excitedly.

"Not if he's in the Underworld," Chris cautioned. "Map scrying won't help you locate him, then."

"So we'll come up with new ways to scry," Phoebe continued, undaunted. "Come on, Piper."

Standing quickly, she started toward the stairs without giving her sister time to reply. A moment later, Piper stood and followed her to the attic.

"I'll go talk to my family and see if any of them knows anything about Vicus," Demetri volunteered, grabbing his keys and heading for the door.

"I'm going to go check with the other Elders," Leo said. "To see what they think you should do."

Standing, he orbed away.

"I guess we'll get some vanquishing potions ready," Paige said, turning to Chris.

He nodded, following her into the kitchen.

"How could you not know Paris?" Paige asked, as they chopped and measured ingredients a few minutes later. "I mean, even if you had been taken away from me, wasn't she still…"

Her voice trailed off and she looked curiously at her son.

"I never knew Paris growing up," he said, softly, looking her straight in the eye. "She was never there. It was just me, Wyatt, and Phoebe's kids."

Taking a deep breath, he continued, reluctantly.

"I only ever knew her name from your diary," he said, as Paige gave him an incredulous look.

"You know about that?" she asked, disbelief in her tone.

Chris nodded, and she blinked back tears. Holding out a hand, she watched as a small book orbed into her outstretched hand.

"I started writing in this after I watched Gamel kill Finn," she said, quietly. "I just couldn't stand the thought that I might forget about any of the Innocents that we lost."

"It was a lot more full when I found it," Chris told her. "I'd been looking for… something, when I found it."

"It was locked in my dresser, no doubt," Paige said, wryly. "And you probably couldn't help telekinetically picking the lock, right?"

"I was fourteen," Chris said, defensively. "Anyway, I looked through it and found Paris's name, along with Vicus's. You'd written down everything you knew about him."

"Which is what you told us about him, right?" Paige asked. "Did I write anything else?"

"Just that Vicus had been collecting an army of children, like I told you earlier," Chris told her.

"So tell me," Paige said, after a moment's silence. "During all your snooping, weren't you afraid of me catching you?"

"No," Chris replied softly, a tear springing to his eye. "Not when you couldn't have."

"What?" Paige asked, confused. "Chris, are you saying that I was…"

"We'd just come back from your funeral," Chris continued, unable to look at her, "and I couldn't face the rest of the family. So I went to your room to escape."

"How?" Paige asked, still focused on her impending death. "How did I die?"

"I can't," Chris began, but Paige pinned him with a look.

"Don't give me that future consequences crap, Chris," she said, angrily. Then, her tone softened and she continued.

"Maybe if I know," she said, "I can stop it from happening."

"You got really sick" Chris told her, reluctantly. "The doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with you, and we had to watch you die a little bit more, every day."

"You've been hiding that all this time?" Paige asked. "Chris-"

"I was so angry at you," he continued, cutting her off. "You were my one ally and you left me."

"I won't," Paige said, firmly, startling him. "I am not going to leave you, angel."

"And just how do you plan to keep that promise?" Chris asked.

"I will find a way to come back from the dead if it comes to that," Paige vowed. "Now, let's get working on these potions. Your brother and sister need our help."

* * *

"Exactly what are you doing?" Piper asked, watching Phoebe lean over a bowl of water, a picture clutched in her hand.

"I told you," Phoebe replied. "I'm scrying."

"Scrying how?" Piper demanded.

"I'm hoping that by using a spell on the pictures, I can get an image of where the children are to appear in the water," Phoebe explained.

"Why not just get a premonition?" Piper asked.

"I tried when Chris first came back with the pictures," Phoebe admitted. "All I saw were the kids. I couldn't see enough of their surroundings to locate them."

"Well, it's not like we know the Underworld well enough to recognize any place that may pop up in that bowl," Piper responded, starting to pace, frantically.

"That's where Paige and Chris come in," Phoebe reassured her. "Paige, at least, should be able to orb us to the kids once she knows what the place looks like."

Piper nodded, falling silent as Phoebe continued to work on her spell.

"Anything?" she burst out, desperately, as Phoebe looked up at her patiently.

"The spell is almost done," she said, quietly. "Piper, I want to get Wyatt back just as much as you do, but you need to be patient. We can't afford any mistakes."

"Right," Piper said, backing down. "I'm just scared. I can't lose him, Phoebe."

"You're not going to," Phoebe assured her. "We're going to get your son back and he's going to get to watch his baby brother or sister grow up."

"You hear that?" she continued, directing her comments at Piper's bulging stomach. "Your big brother is going to be just fine."

"Quit talking to my stomach," Piper grumbled, absently. "You don't do that to Paige."

"Because Chris can talk back," Phoebe replied. "Now, shush."

A few minutes later, she capped her pen, grinning triumphantly.

"We have a scrying spell," she announced, standing and stretching.

"Paige! Chris!" Piper yelled, moving over to the attic door. "Get up here!"

"And bring the potions!" Phoebe added.

"What's up?" Chris asked, startling Piper as he and Paige orbed in behind her.

"Scrying spell," Phoebe said, waving around the piece of paper. "As soon as I find those kids, you two are orbing us to them."

"Sounds like a plan," Paige commented.

"Except for the part where we orb two pregnant women, one of them my wheelchair-bound mother, into the Underworld," Chris griped.

"Don't be such a worrywart," Paige told him, affectionately. "Since history seems to be repeating itself regarding us being pregnant, I think you and Piper's baby will be more than just fine."

"It's you I'm worried about," Chris told her. "You can't walk, remember?"

"Thanks for the update," Paige told him. "But, I can, however, orb. Meaning that I will be perfectly fine."

"Halliwell babies protect their mommies," Phoebe chimed in.

"Not this one," Piper said, quietly, causing everyone to look at her. "My baby hasn't shown any powers. So, she can't protect herself."

"I'm sure it's just a matter of time," Phoebe said, uncertainty in her voice, nonetheless.

"Your baby will be fine," Paige said, firmly. "Between all of us the demons aren't going to be able to get a claw within a hundred feet of her."

"You're right," Piper said, taking a deep breath. "Let's go get those kids."

"A moment, please," a voice said from behind them.

Piper whirled around and gasped in shock, raising her hands defensively. A heartbeat later, Paige joined her, ready to unleash an energy bolt at the intruder.

"Piper, wait!" Phoebe cried, lunging to grab at her sisters' hands.

"Phoebe that's a demon," Piper gritted, glaring over her sister's shoulder.

"I'm not here to hurt you," the Crone said.

"We," she continued, making a sweeping gesture at two figures that materialized beside her, "are the Tribunal."

* * *

"I don't understand what's so special about this little brat."

Without turning around, Vicus flicked his hand, vanquishing the demon that had spoken up.

"Am I the only one who recognizes the true potential of this child?" he asked, rhetorically.

"No, father," Paris said, tactfully, as she warily eyed Wyatt, who was sitting in the center of the cavern. "Not everyone is as blind as Maika was."

"A smart, diplomatic response," Vicus said, turning to acknowledge her. "Do you fear Wyatt?"

"I respect his power," Paris said slowly, "even though I wish that it were in more capable hands."

"He will learn to grow into his powers," Vicus told her. "After all, you did."

"My powers can hardly compare to his," Paris said.

"Nonsense," Vicus said. "The two of you share bloodlines. It wouldn't surprise me if you shared powers as well."

"It's hard to believe that I have a cousin," Paris said.

"And that your parents are alive?" Vicus prompted.

"They mean nothing," Paris said, briskly. "You are all the family I need."

"It is normal for you to feel unsettled," Vicus told her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "It is the human response."

"I wish I didn't feel like this," Paris grumbled, pulling away and staring uneasily at Wyatt. "I don't like being human. It makes me feel weak, vulnerable."

"Embrace your humanity," Vicus said, surprising her.

"It will help you to better blend with the mortals," he added, when she gave him a startled look.

"I guess that's something," Paris responded.

"That's my girl," Vicus told her. "Now, how would you like to help me get Wyatt settled?"

"How do you plan to turn him?" Paris asked, conversationally, as they walked over to the boy.

"When he gives me his full trust, he will be one of us," Vicus told her. "And that should be very soon, indeed."

* * *

Demetri walked slowly into his family's ancestral home and paused in the foyer.

"Mother?" he called out. "Father? Greg?"

"In here," his brother called out, his voice floating down the hall, from the direction of the altar room.

Tossing his jacket over the handrail of the stairs, Demetri followed his voice.

"Are you busy?" he asked, seeing his brother bent over a smoking bowl, a pestle held in his hands.

"Not so busy that I can't talk to my favorite twin brother," Greg replied, straightening and stretching to ease the cramps in his back. "What's up?"

"I told you that Paige recently became one of my patients, right?" Demetri asked.

"Yeah," Greg responded. "How's she doing, anyway?"

"Not too bad, considering that she's a paralyzed soon-to-be single mom," Demetri said. "But that's not what I wanted to talk about."

"Oh, no?" Greg asked, knowingly.

"Okay, it's not completely what I wanted to talk to you about," Demetri admitted.

"So what did you come over here to sort of talk to me about?" Greg asked.

"Have you ever heard of a demon called Vicus?" Demetri asked.

"The name doesn't sound familiar," Greg said, thinking for a moment, "but I'd have to check some books to make sure. What does this have to do with Paige?"

"Do you remember Paris?" Demetri asked, rather than responding.

"Of course I do," Greg replied, puzzled. "How could I forget my own niece? What is this, twenty questions?"

"No," Demetri said, uneasily. "I do have a point."

"And it would be what?" Greg prompted.

Demetri took a deep breath, centering himself, and then looked hisbrother square in the eye.

"Paris didn't die," he said. "She was kidnapped by Vicus, and now he's taken Paige's nephew."

"Wait, what?" Greg demanded. "How can you be sure that it's really Paris he's got?"

"I saw her, Greg," Demetri said, his voice choking with emotion. "It's Paris, I'm sure of it. I'd recognize my little girl anywhere."

"Wow," Greg said, slowly processing the information. "Have you figured out a way to tell Paige about this?"

"I don't have to," Demetri told him. "She was there when I found out."

"How'd she take it?" Greg asked.

"She's worried, scared, and really pissed off," Demetri said.

"That's not really the normal reaction of a mortal finding out about demons," Greg said.

"Did I forget to mention that Paige is a Charmed One?" Demetri said.

"Yeah, you neglected to mention that little detail," Greg muttered, irritably, glaring at him. "Are you telling me that your ex-wife is one of the most powerful witches in existence?"

"Well, she wasn't when we got married," Demetri said, defensively.

"No, she was just a power-bound witch, then," a voice said, cheerfully, from behind them.

Demetri jumped in shock, as Duncan, his oldest brother fully materialized in the room, chuckling.

"Didn't I tell you you'd regret listening to Mother about marrying Paige?" he said. "I always wondered when she'd grow into her powers."

"Why didn't you tell me about that?" Demetri demanded.

"Since when do you listen to me?" Duncan retorted, philosophically.

"So, what were you two talking about before I chanced along?" he asked, as Demetri remained ominously silent.

"A demon called Vicus," Greg informed him. "Sound familiar?"

"Vaguely," Duncan said. "Jolene's the research fiend, why don't you ask her?"

"Because dragging the entire family into an already sticky situation is a bad idea," Demetri muttered.

"If it can help save Paris-" Greg prompted, causing Duncan to look at him in shock.

"Vicus kidnapped Paris seven years ago," Greg told him, sparing Demetri the task of having to launch into another painful explanation. "And now, he's not only got her, but Paige's sister's son as well."

"I'll call Jolene and tell her to hit the books," Duncan said, dialing his sister's number on his cell. "If there's anything about Vicus to be found, she'll get it for us."

"I only hope she gets it in time," Demetri said, suddenly morose.

"You're not going to lose your daughter, again," Greg told him, sternly.

"I hope you're right," Demetri said, sadly.

* * *

"What the hell is the Tribunal?" Piper demanded, still not lowering her hands.

"They're the governing force behind magic," Phoebe said quickly, trying to keep her sisters from attacking the Crone.

"How do you know that?" Paige demanded, glaring at Phoebe.

"Because they're the ones that sent me on my vision quest," Phoebe replied.

"That's good to know, but what are they doing here, now?" Piper asked.

"We are here because of the situation with your children." The man, silent until now, spoke up.

"And who are you?" Paige snapped, turning on him. "Another demon?"

"Hardly," the man said, scornfully. "I am Gideon, an Elder. This," he continued, gesturing to the woman beside him, "is Quelle, the representative of the neutral powers."

"What do you want with our children?" Piper asked, coldly.

"Vicus has violated a law that I laid down on behalf of the Tribunal," the Crone told them, rather than answering.

"You mean the one about Wyatt," Phoebe said. "Why are you so upset? You violated that law."

"Only to confirm what we had suspected since his conception," Quelle said.

"Which is what?" Piper demanded.

"That the boy possesses power beyond belief," Quelle answered, unruffled by her tone. "He is a force greater than good or evil, and has a destiny greater than you could imagine."

"Unfortunately," Gideon droned, "Vicus is trying to tamper with that destiny, an attempt that will only backfire on him."

"As you well know," he added a moment later, pinning Chris with a look.

"Not to interrupt this little pow-wow," Paige spoke up, "but, if you three don't mind, we have some kids we need to find."

"And you haven't told us why you're here," Phoebe said. "Except that it has something to do with Wyatt and Paris."

"I have had a vision of the fate of magic and all it touches, if Vicus is allowed to succeed with his plans for Wyatt," the Crone said.

"Old news," Chris snapped, impatiently. "I've already been to that future."

"There is more to this situation than even you know," the Crone told him, disdainfully.

"So enlighten us," Piper snapped, angrily.

"We cannot," Quelle said, imperiously. "Too much of the future is at stake."

"Then how do you expect us-" Paige burst out.

"You must stop Vicus from turning Wyatt evil, no matter what the cost," the Crone said, cutting Paige off mid-sentence. "Too much is at risk if you cannot."

"What do you mean, no matter what the cost?" Phoebe asked, suspiciously. "What cost?"

"Wyatt is not expendable," Gideon stated. "Certain others, on the other hand, are."

Silence reigned throughout the attic, and then Paige spoke up.

"You bastard," she whispered. "You're talking about murdering my daughter."

"It would not be murder, technically, but sacrifices must be made for the greater Good," Gideon told her. "It is the way of magic."

"Not the magic I practice," Phoebe snarled, furiously, shaking with anger as she confronted the Elder on her sister's behalf. "We don't just pick and choose the Innocents we save, especially not when they're children."

"The girl is no longer Innocent," Quelle spoke up. "She has freely chosen the side of Evil."

"She's just a little girl," Piper growled, glaring at the Tribunal as she joined her sister in facing them. "She doesn't know what she's choosing."

"Be that as it may," the Crone said, drawing everyone's attention, "the girl is expendable. And she is a danger to Wyatt. When the time comes to it, if you cannot take care of the problem, we will."

"No," Paige whispered, her voice painful and ragged, surprising everyone. "She's my daughter; I won't let anyone else take this burden."

"Paige," Phoebe said, uncertain of what to say, but Paige shook her head, cutting Phoebe off.

"If Paris becomes a danger to Wyatt," she said, softly, "if there's no other way to keep him safe, then I'll be the one to do it."

"Mom," Chris began.

"No one else," she said, firmly, locking gazes with her son. "I won't have anyone else with her blood on their hands."

"You've made the right decision," the Crone told her.

"Get the hell out of my sight," Paige snarled, looking over at the demon. "Unless you want to find out what a permanent vanquish feels like."

Without another word, the Crone stepped back and disappeared, the other two beings following her lead.

"There has to be a way to save Wyatt and still save Paris, too," Phoebe said, as soon as they were gone.

"What if there isn't?" Piper asked, quietly. "What if we're too late to save either one of them?"

"We won't be," Phoebe said, firmly, even as doubts raced through her mind.

"Look," Chris said. "Let's just get down to the Underworld, and cross those bridges when we get to them."

"I have to call Demetri, first," Paige said, pulling her cell phone out. "He needs to know that he won't be able to reach us."

Without another word, she went into the hallway, shutting the door behind her.

"You should go tell Leo, as well," Piper told Chris. "Just in case we need someone to heal us when we get back."

"Got it," Chris said, orbing out.

About ten minutes later, he orbed back in, just as Paige hung up her cell phone and came back into the attic.

"Demetri's been talking with his family, but they don't have anything new to add to what we already know about Vicus," she said, sadly.

"I didn't-I couldn't tell him about the Tribunal's ultimatum," she added. "Not now. I figure there'll probably be plenty of time after, if-"

She stopped, her throat choked with sobs, as she wiped hastily at her eyes.

"It's not going to come to that," Phoebe told her. "We're going to go down to the Underworld and we're going to rescue both Wyatt and Paris."

Paige nodded, although she didn't look convinced.

"Phoebe, where's that spell?" Chris asked, breaking the silence that threatened to overwhelm everyone in the room.

"I've got it right here," Phoebe said, brandishing the piece of paper she shoved into her pocket earlier. "Where's the scrying bowl?"

"Right here," Piper said, retrieving the bowl, with the pictures still floating inside. "Are you sure this is going to work?"

"As sure as I can be, considering we've never done anything like this before," Phoebe replied. "You guys ready?"

"Let's do this," Chris said, decisively, as Piper and Paige just nodded.

"Here goes," Phoebe murmured. Placing a hand on the photos, submerging them into the water, she started to chant.

_"Powers of the witches rise_

_Guide us to the children we wish to find."_

"Short and to the point," Piper said, as the water in the bowl started churning wildly. "I like that."

"I think it's working," Chris said, peering excitedly into the bowl, as the water slowly calmed down. "I can see something. Not any place I recognize, though"

"I recognize that place," Phoebe gasped, seeing the image that formed in the water. "That doesn't look like all of the kids, though."

"Well, we can't expect to find all of them in one spot," Chris remarked. "That would make our jobs too easy."

"That's the Source's coronation chamber, isn't it?" Paige asked, looking into the bowl as well. "It looks like the same place where the Seer held me hostage."

"That's the place, all right," Piper murmured, joining her sisters. "Look, you can still see the scorch marks on the floor from where-"

Her voice trailed off awkwardly as she looked at Phoebe.

"Sorry," she said, quietly.

"It's okay," Phoebe said, not looking away from the bowl. "I'm okay. But we're not going to lose any more children in that place."

"What do you mean?" Chris asked, but Paige nudged him, gently.

"I'll tell you later," she whispered. "Now that we know where it is," she said, louder, "we should go."

Nodding, Phoebe and Piper stepped away from the bowl, taking Chris and Paige's hands.

"Just follow me," Paige told Chris, orbing away. He was right behind her, a second later.

* * *

"And here I hoped we wouldn't ever have to come back here," Piper commented, looking around the small antechamber they'd landed in. "Why are we here, anyway, and not in the coronation chamber, itself?"

"Because it would be suicide to orb into a cavern full of demons," Paige informed her. "This is marginally safer, and it gives us the element of surprise."

"We should split up," Phoebe said. "Then we can search for the kids easier."

"Right," Piper said. "Chris, you're with Phoebe, and Paige and I'll stick together. That way, there's someone in each group who can orb if things go bad."

"Plus, Paris is likely to be near where Wyatt is being held," Chris spoke up. "Vicus won't want to separate his two strongest victims."

"Since Piper and I have the strongest offensive powers, we'll go toward the coronation chamber and focus on rescuing the kids being held there," Paige said, looking at Phoebe. "You and Chris can find the other kids."

"Thanks," Phoebe murmured, gratefully.

"Good luck," Piper told them, as she and Paige headed toward the coronation chamber.

"So," Piper said, conversationally, "how's your physical therapy going?"

She and Paige were making their way to where the children were being held, Paige orbing every few feet to avoid objects that could trip her up.

"You choose to wait until now to ask me this?" Paige wondered.

"Is there something else you'd care to talk about?" Piper asked.

"I guess not," Paige responded. "And to answer your question, not well, considering that I've only had a few sessions with Demetri."

"What about your relationship with Demetri?" Piper asked, curiously.

"What about it?" Paige asked, suspiciously.

"How's it going?" Piper pressed. "Any chance of you guys getting back together?"

"Any chance of you and Leo getting back together?" Paige countered, rather than answering.

"Things with Leo are a little complicated right now," Piper responded, "considering that both of us are pregnant with his children and that he altered reality in the future just to keep me from leaving him."

"Our lives are always complicated," Paige replied. "This isn't that much different."

Piper nodded, and the two of them continued forward in silence. It was Paige who broke the silence a few moments later.

"Baby names," she said, prompting Piper to look at her oddly.

"Excuse me?" she said.

"Have you and Leo been thinking of baby names for the little one?" Paige clarified, nodding at Piper's stomach.

"It's kind of hard, considering that we don't know if I'm having a girl or a boy, yet," Piper told her.

"It would be easier if you would go to the doctor," Paige teased, gently.

"I'd love to, but I can't seem to find the time," Piper complained. "We've all been so busy trying to save Wyatt, and now the situation with Paris."

"Yeah, that," Paige said, glumly, Piper's words a grim reminder of her mission.

"Are you okay?" Piper asked, concerned.

"How am I supposed to be okay?" Paige asked. "All I can think about is how I may have to kill my daughter to save Wyatt."

"You don't have to do this, you know," Piper said, softly.

"And leave it up to the Tribunal's judgment?" Paige asked, agitation evident in her tone. "I can't do that to Paris. I can't-"

Her voice broke, painfully, and she took a shuddering breath to steady herself.

"Chris told me in the future that he never knew Paris growing up; that she died before he was born," she continued, when she trusted herself to speak, again.

"I thought Vicus had killed her, but what if it was me? What if this had happened in Chris's timeline, and I had to kill my daughter? How am I supposed to explain to Chris that it's my fault he doesn't have a big sister?"

"I can't imagine having to go through what you are, right now," Piper said, after a moment. "If the Tribunal had told me that Wyatt-"

Her voice trailed off, uncomfortably.

"You're stronger than I could ever be," she told Paige, finally.

"This isn't bravery," Paige said, softly. "I've just gone numb."

"I think you're entitled to be," Piper told her.

"Thanks," Paige sniffed, tearfully. Then, she stopped her wheelchair and cocked her head.

"Do you hear that?" she hissed, softly.

"Voices up ahead," Piper murmured. "We found the coronation chamber."

"And the missing kids," Paige said.

Motioning for Paige to stay back, Piper crept forward, slowly, intent on not making a sound. By the time she reached the entrance to the chamber, she was barely breathing, for fear that the demons inside would hear the air leaving her lungs.

Finally, she was able to peer cautiously through the entrance, gasping in shock at what she saw. Five children sat in the center of the chamber, some playing, and some crying. They were ringed by roughly a dozen demons, all of who looked capable of snapping the witches in half with their bare hands.

But what drew Piper's attention the most was Paris, who was sitting at the back of the chamber, with Wyatt perched on her lap. As Piper watched, Paris encouraged the boy to use his powers to send energy balls at a shapeless lump on the floor in front of them. Piper winced, seeing her baby boy summoning energy balls. She didn't even want to think about what the lump might be.

Moving softly, she went back to Paige and urged her further down the annex way.

"Five kids, a dozen demons, and Paris and Wyatt," she whispered, looking around to make sure they remained unseen.

"Paris!" Paige gasped, softly. "Is she-"

"She's showing Wyatt how to use energy balls," Piper told her, regretfully. Paige closed her eyes for a moment, overcome with grief at her little girl's fate.

Piper laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, and then froze at a sharp sound behind her. She turned slowly as Paige's eyes widened in fear.

"Going somewhere, ladies?" the demon asked, leering at them.

* * *

"Can you sense anything?" Chris hissed, softly.

"Shush," Phoebe replied absently, flapping a hand in his direction. "I need to concentrate."

Chris sighed and once again took his aunt's elbow to lead her through the Underworld. Phoebe walked slowly beside him, her eyes closed as she focused on trying to find the kids through the emotions they projected.

Every so often, Chris cast his Whitelighter senses out, in an attempt to find the kids that way, but most of his attention was taken up with guiding and protecting Phoebe from anything they might come across.

"Here," Phoebe said, indicating a passageway leading off to the right with a short nod of her head. "I can sense something down that way."

"Is it the kids?" Chris asked, quickly.

"I'm not sure," Phoebe replied, focusing on the mixed emotions she was sensing.

"No," she clarified, after a moment. "It's not the kids we're looking for."

"Then we should go find the kids," Chris told her.

"No," Phoebe said, surprising him. "You go."

"What!" Chris hissed, angrily. "What are you talking about?"

"You go find those kids," Phoebe said, ignoring his incredulous stare.

"There's something I need to do down there," she added, gesturing to the passageway.

"What could be more important than the kids we're looking for?" Chris demanded.

"The child that's down there," Phoebe told him, looking her nephew in the eye. "Chris, this is something that I have to do."

"Be careful," Chris said, after a moment.

Phoebe nodded and headed down the passageway, without a backward glance. Chris watched her go, and then continued down the path he was on, focusing his senses as he went. So intent was he on his search that he didn't notice a shadow coming up from behind him.

Suddenly, Chris felt pain radiating through his entire body. Even as he fell helplessly to his knees, he looked down to see the shaft of an arrow sticking out of his stomach.

He gasped for breath, every miniscule movement causing him agony as he hit the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a pair of shapes detach themselves from the wall and advance towards him.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" a Darklighter sneered, looming over him menacingly.

"Looks like a nosy little witch," his companion added, leering unpleasantly. "I say we kill him," he continued, punctuating his point with a savage kick to Chris's ribs.

Bright lights danced in front of Chris's eyes as pain shot through every nerve ending in his body. He whimpered involuntarily, causing the Darklighters to laugh, cruelly, and prompting another kick to his side.

Chris lost sense of himself as he floated in a void, trying to escape the pain. Everything was dull and muddy, and time had slowed to a crawl.

A few seconds later, or maybe a few hours, Chris heard a new voice join that of his tormentors.

"What is this?"

"Just a witch, Vicus," one of the Darklighters replied. "We found him snooping around."

"Not just a witch, if you've shot him with one of your arrows," Vicus mused. "Stop this, and take him to where the children are being held," he commanded. "Then, take all of them to the abandoned coronation chamber, where the others are being held."

"What about the Charmed Ones?" the other Darklighter asked. "Isn't that why the children were separated in the first place?"

"The Charmed Ones are otherwise occupied," Vicus said, as Chris tried vainly to focus on the demon's words.

Then, his concentration was interrupted as the Darklighters hoisted him up into the air and began to carry him. They jostled him, hard, with every step, and Chris couldn't help the tears of pain that sprang to his eyes.

_'I'm in real trouble, now,'_ he thought, despairingly. _'Mom, help me.'_

* * *

Phoebe crept slowly along the passageway, barely making a sound. Slowing down even further as the passageway widened, she stopped just before she reached the chamber at the end. She waited a few, harrowing seconds but the occupants of the chamber didn't seem to notice her.

More confident now, she peered into the chamber, to see Vicus arguing with a boy who couldn't have been any older than fifteen years old. She was taken aback at her first sight of the boy, feeling something strange spring to life in her chest.

"I don't understand where all of this is coming from, Hugh," Vicus told the boy, eying him predatorily as he paced the lip of the chasm in the center of the chamber.

"I just don't think this is right," Hugh said, his eyes pleading with Vicus to understand him. "We shouldn't be using little children like this. Surely there are demons who could better suit your purposes."

"You disappoint me, Hugh," Vicus said, softly, dangerously. "I never dreamed that you'd be this weak, that you could possibly turn on me like this after all I've done for you."

"I'm not-" Hugh protested, weakly, but Vicus cut him off.

"Of course you're betraying me," he told the boy. "What else would you call turning to the side of Good?"

Hugh bit his lip, unable, or unwilling, Phoebe thought, to make a reply to that comment. After a moment, Vicus shook his head in disgust and stalked angrily past Hugh.

"Vicus," Hugh pleaded, reaching a hand toward the demon's arm, but Vicus simply shook him off like he would a fly. Then, he paused, even as Hugh took a step toward him.

Phoebe watched in horror as Vicus spun around, shoving Hugh into the chasm. The boy let out a short scream as he fell backward, and her heart leapt into her throat when the sound stopped.

"No!" she screamed, the cry ripped involuntarily from her throat.

Hearing her, Vicus turned, smirking.

"You're too late, witch," she heard him say, as he shimmered out of the cavern. "You've lost another one.

Not wasting another second, Phoebe darted forward, throwing herself to the ground to peer over the jagged edge. Hugh clung to the rock face, a few feet down, pure terror written all over his face.

Phoebe tried to levitate down to where he was, but she only made it a few inches before dropping back to the ground, shaking with sheer exhaustion. She felt as though she had no energy left.

"Help me," Hugh whispered, plaintively, as she looked down at him. "Please, help."

Making up her mind, Phoebe inched slowly forward on her stomach, until she was dangling precariously over the edge of the cliff.

"Take my hand!" she yelled, stretching towards him.

Hugh lunged, making a desperate grab for her outstretched hand, but missed and clutched convulsively at the rock face to keep from falling.

"I can't," he whimpered, fearfully, his voice reaching her ears despite the thunderous pounding of her heart. "I can't reach. You're too far away."

"Yes, you can," Phoebe gritted, insistently. "You have to. I can't levitate down there."

She stretched forward, further, praying that she wouldn't fall, and locked gazes with the boy.

"Take my hand," she repeated, firmly. "Come on. I won't let you fall, I swear."

Hugh nodded once, and then lunged upward again. This time, his fingers barely grazed hers, but it was enough. Lurching forward, Phoebe locked her fingers around his wrist, and immediately began levitating upward.

It was easier going than before, since she wasn't trying to levitate into the chasm, but she was still moving slower than she liked. She bent at the waist with the strain of keeping Hugh aloft along with herself, and her burden became heavier with each foot of height that she gained.

Finally, they cleared the lip of the chasm and dropped to the ground below, exhausted. Not taking any chances, Phoebe hooked an arm around Hugh's chest, dragging him further away from the chasm. The further she got away from the lip of the chasm, the better she felt, until she was finally able to speak again.

"What is that thing?" she gasped out.

"It's the Vortex," Hugh replied, a few minutes later, as he got his energy back. "It sucks powers away. That's why I couldn't shimmer out of there after-"

His voice trailed off, awkwardly, and he shot her an embarrassed look.

"You saved me," he said, softly. "Why, after everything I've helped do to your family?"

"Why not?" Phoebe replied, tiredly. A few minutes later, she looked at him.

"Vicus is holding those kidnapped children, somewhere," she said. "And he's got my sister's son. Could you possibly tell me where he might have them?"

"Wyatt," Hugh said, recognition dawning. After a moment, he said, "I'll do more than tell you. I can show you where he'd have them."

Standing slowly, he brushed himself off and held out a hand.

"What?" Phoebe asked, confused, as she let him help her to her feet. "Why would you do that?"

"Why not?" Hugh replied, simply.

He began to walk away, and after a moment, Phoebe followed.

* * *

"Are you going to rescue us?"

Piper looked down at the source of the voice and saw a little girl standing in front of her. She shifted uncomfortably against the wall she was chained against even as she tried to smile reassuringly.

"We sure are," she replied, trying to keep her tone upbeat.

"Hey, you!" one of the demons yelled, startling the girl, badly. "Get back over with the others."

"Leave her alone," Piper snarled, as the child scuttled fearfully back to the group of kids.

"Shut up, witch," the demon replied, not even looking at her.

Piper sighed sadly as she turned her attention away from the kids and over to Paige. Her little sister wasn't looking at anything except Paris and Wyatt, however, a look of weary grief on her face. Piper doubted she even cared about the demons holding them hostage.

"Paige?" she ventured, hoping to break into her sister's reverie.

"What?" Paige asked, listlessly, not taking her eyes off of her daughter.

"We need to focus on getting out of here," Piper hissed, eyeing the demons nervously. "Can you orb these things off my hands?"

She held up her bound hands to draw attention to the shackles completely covering them, preventing her from using her magic. Without even looking at her, Paige shook her head.

"I already tried," she said, quietly. "They're impervious to my magic. And I'm not about to orb out of here and abandon you."

"Then how, exactly, are we supposed to get out of here?" Piper asked.

"I don't know," Paige replied, finally tearing her gaze away from Paris. "I-"

Her words were cut off suddenly as she doubled over in agony, groaning.

"Paige?" Piper hissed, as one of the demons made his way over to them. "Paige, what's wrong?"

"Chris," Paige moaned, tears in her eyes. "It's Chris. He's dying."

"What's going on here?" the demon demanded, finally reaching them.

"None of your damn business," Piper growled.

Furious, the demon went to backhand her, but was stopped suddenly by a force field that appeared between his hand and her face.

"What the hell?" he gasped, in amazement.

_'Way to go, little one,'_ Piper thought triumphantly at her unborn baby, as she turned back to her sister.

"Paige, what happened to Chris?" she asked, with quiet urgency, ignoring the demon glowering at her.

"Darklighter," Paige gasped, looking at her.

"And you'll get to watch him die," a new voice joined in.

Out of the corner of her eye, Piper saw Vicus enter the chamber, herding the rest of the kids in front of him. Behind him was a pair of burly Darklighters, and one of them had her nephew slung carelessly over his shoulder.

Piper gasped in horror as he dropped Chris onto the hard ground, and Paige gave an inarticulate moan at the sight of her son, lying broken and bleeding on the floor of the chamber, a Darklighter's arrow though his stomach.

Piper felt tears flow down her cheeks as she watched Chris gasp futilely for air, his chest heaving with each breath. Paige gave a small sob at the sight of her son dying in front of her eyes.

"Chris," she whispered softly.

At the sound of her voice, Chris opened his eyes and looked at her, pain filling his gaze.

"I'm sorry," he choked out, as a thin line of blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth. "I failed-"

His voice trailed off as agony wracked his body. He took a great, heaving breath, and then his chest lay still. Piper stared in shock at him as silence filled the chamber. Then a wild scream pierced the stillness.

"NO!" Paige howled, anguish pouring off her, as she lurched forward, trying to get to the body of her son.

The demons moved forward as though to hold her back, but a sudden force knocked them backward, sending them hurtling to the far corners of the chamber. Phoebe, who'd just entered the chamber with a boy in tow, danced backward frantically to avoid one of the flying demons.

Paige, meanwhile, had managed to get herself out of her wheelchair and had, through supreme force of will, dragged herself over to Chris's body.

"Chris," she whispered, brokenly. "Oh, Chris, I'm so sorry, angel."

"What happened?" Phoebe hissed, as she joined Piper, never taking her eyes off her grieving sister. "Is Chris…"

Piper nodded, unable to speak through the knot in her throat. Then, she stared in amazement as the boy beside Phoebe wordlessly took her bound hands in his own and simply melted the shackles off of them.

"How did you do that?" she asked, but Phoebe suddenly tugged urgently at her sleeve.

"Piper, look," Phoebe whispered, hoarsely, pointing at Paige. Piper followed her gaze and simply gaped, stunned by what she saw.

Paige was still hunched over Chris's body, but this time she was glowing. A brilliantly blinding light was radiating from her, surrounding both her and Chris, practically obscuring them from vision.

"What's happening?" Phoebe asked, wonderingly.

Piper shook her head, as clueless as her sister. Then, the light receded and Chris took a deep breath, and she understood.

"He healed him," she said, astonished. "Baby Chris healed Big Chris through Paige."

"And he healed her, too," the boy observed, as Paige suddenly, astoundingly, stood up.

"You know what your first mistake was?" Paige asked Vicus conversationally, who was gaping much like Piper and Phoebe were. "Threatening this family's kids."

Her eyes flashing dangerously, she held out her hands. Bolts of white energy left her palms to strike the demon in the chest. He staggered, but stayed upright.

"You think that's going to stop me?" he asked, mockingly.

"Try this one on for size," Piper snarled, striding forward furiously. She unleashed a blast of explosive energy, but it did little more than rock the demon on his feet.

"Is that the best you witches can do?" Vicus sneered.

"Actually, no," Phoebe replied, joining her sisters. "Power of Three spell?" she asked, in an undertone, gripping her sisters' hands. Her sisters nodded and they began to chant.

_"The Power of Three will set us free._

_The Power of Three will set us free._

_The Power of Three will set us free."_

A wind whipped up around them as they continued the incantation, pushing Vicus backward. Furious, he launched a series of fireballs at them, but the force of their combined magic deflected it.

As they continued to chant, Phoebe felt the same strange feeling that she'd felt in the Vortex chamber when she first saw Hugh. At the same time, she thought she heard a baby's laugh.

Phoebe closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them, she was no longer staring at a cavern in the Underworld. Rather, she found herself looking at a kitchen. Hearing another laugh, she spun around to see a dark-haired child sitting in a high chair, happily banging on the tray with a spoon.

Curious, Phoebe walked closer to the little boy, and then gasped in shock as she recognized herself and Cole in the baby's features.

"Are you-" she whispered, but stopped at the sound of footsteps behind her. Phoebe stared in amazement as she watched herself walk into the kitchen.

"Hey, baby boy," she said, plucking the child out of the high chair and spinning him around.

"Whee!" the boy cried, gleefully. "More!"

Phoebe watched as the woman and child spun dizzily around the kitchen, and then realization struck.

_'The last time I was here, I lost you to the Seer,'_ she thought, gazing sadly at the little boy. _'Is this your way of coming back to me? My lost baby boy. I'm so sorry I didn't fight harder to keep you.'_

As though he'd read her mind, the boy looked over his mother's shoulder, waving at her. His mother looked as well, frowning in confusion.

"Who's over there, Josh?" she asked. "One of your invisible friends?"

_'No,' _Phoebe thought in reply. _'Just another version of yourself. Take care of him the way I didn't get to. Love him the way I never could.'_

She closed her eyes again for a second, finally allowing herself to let go of the past, and opened them to see the Underworld. And then a hand flashed in front of her face and she yelped, startled, and jumped backward.

"Twitchy, much?" Paige asked, dryly, from where she was kneeling on the ground beside Chris as Piper lowered her hand.

"Since when do you check out during the middle of a vanquish?" Piper demanded. "You know, Paige and I are lucky the entire Power of Three doesn't have to say a spell to get it to work," she added, giving her sister a pointed look.

"Sorry," Phoebe said, sheepishly. "I couldn't help it. So Vicus is vanquished?" she asked, looking around.

"Yeah," Paige told her. "And during your little nap, or whatever that was, you missed Paris trying to give me a heart attack."

"She tackled Vicus," Piper supplied, as Phoebe noticed the girl standing behind Paige, holding Wyatt in her arms. "Right after he started specifically targeting Paige."

"I know, I know," Paris heaved a sigh. "It was stupid of me."

"Just a little bit," Paige told her. "But also incredibly brave."

"Can we, maybe, not tell Dad about that?" Paris asked, sheepishly.

"Only if you promise not to scare me like that ever again," Paige told her.

"Deal," Paris said instantly.

"That'll last all of five minutes," Piper muttered, and Phoebe chuckled.

"Not to ruin anyone's fun," she said, a moment later, "but what do you say we get out of here?"

"And how do you propose we do that?" Paige asked. "Because Chris is still unconscious, and I can't orb eighteen people at once by myself."

"I'm sure we'll figure something out," Phoebe said, looking around. Then, she locked gazes with her sisters, and they nodded.

Looking at the ceiling of the cavern, they yelled as one, "Leo!"

* * *

"I'd say today was a good day," Piper commented, dropping wearily into one of the chairs at the dining room table.

"Except for the part where we got kidnapped and Chris died," Paige said, dryly.

"That was pretty bad, I'll admit," Piper said. "And you," she continued, looking at Chris, "you have got some wicked powers. What happened to you not being able to heal, huh?"

"Those powers were stripped from me," Chris told them. "I figured if I didn't have them, I might as well not talk about them."

"I'm just glad you got them when you did," Paige told him. "Although sooner would have been nicer. I mean, how exactly am I supposed to explain suddenly being able to walk?"

"Miracles happen?" Piper suggested, grinning.

"Yeah, that'll go over well," Paige said, wryly.

"Still," Phoebe spoke up. "Piper's right. Complications aside, this was a good day."

"I know what you mean," Paige said, softly, casting an affectionate glance at the living room, where Paris and Hugh were playing with Wyatt.

"So, how did Darryl react when you brought him the kids?" Phoebe asked, turning to Chris.

"I don't think I've ever seen him happier," Chris said. "Or more frustrated."

"Why is he frustrated?" Piper asked.

"Because now he's got to figure out a plausible story to explain what happened to the kids and how they came to be with him," Chris said.

"I don't think he'll have to try too hard, considering how happy everyone was to see their kids again," Paige commented.

"Happy endings all around," Phoebe said.

"Except for Hugh," Piper said. "Were you able to find anything about his family?"

"Yes, unfortunately," Paige replied. At Piper and Chris's surprised looks, she elaborated.

"Hugh's from an abusive home," she said. "His parents have previous convictions of child neglect. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Vicus probably saved his life by kidnapping him and turning him evil."

"First time being evil was a good thing," Chris remarked.

"We can't let him go back to them!" Piper protested.

"We're not going to," Paige assured her. "Or, at least Phoebe's not going to."

"I'm going to adopt Hugh," Phoebe said softly, as her big sister shot her an amazed look.

"When I was with Hugh in that cavern," she continued, "the only thing running through my mind was 'I can't lose him.' And, I'm not going to."

"What about your future daughter?" Piper asked.

"Don't get me wrong," Phoebe said. "It would be great if, one day, I had that little girl. But right now, Hugh is the most important thing in my life."

"This is exactly what I want for my life," she added, after a moment, a note of satisfaction in her voice.

"You're pretty amazing, you know that?" Piper remarked.

"Yeah, I know," Phoebe said, faking modesty. Paige playfully elbowed her and she grinned.

"So, where did Leo and Demetri disappear to?" she asked.

"Search me," Paige said, shrugging. "Demetri didn't bother to enlighten me as he was leaving. And the one person who might know is playing deaf."

She shot a pointed look at Chris, who whistled innocently and stared up at the ceiling.

"See what I mean?" Paige said, grinning.

"It doesn't seem real," Piper said a few minutes later, breaking the silence that had fallen over the kitchen.

"What doesn't?" Paige asked, curiously.

"Vicus is dead," Piper said, softly, "and Wyatt is safe. I know that I should be thrilled, and I am, but there's a part of me that says that this just doesn't feel right."

"Go with that feeling," a new voice said, causing everyone to turn around in shock.

A man stood in the kitchen doorway, a cruel smile lighting his face.

"Who are you?" Piper snapped, rising defensively.

"What's the matter?" the man said, mockingly. "Don't you recognize me, _Mom_?"


	8. Showdown

**Chapter Eight: Showdown**

"What's the matter?" the man said, mockingly. "Don't you recognize me, _Mom_?"

"Wyatt," Chris said softly, dread filling every fiber of his being.

"Surprise, baby brother," Wyatt said, turning towards Chris at the sound of his voice. "Or, should I say, half-brother. You know, no one was more surprised than me to find out the truth about you."

"I honestly didn't know Dad had it in him to cheat on you, Mom," he continued, turning towards Piper. "Or that your own sister would help him, and then flaunt their kid in your face."

Piper involuntarily looked over at Paige, who'd gone as white as a sheet, and Wyatt let out a low laugh.

"How did you get back here?" Chris asked, his earlier dread replaced with a cold fury at the sight of Wyatt trying to rip his family apart.

"You didn't honestly think that taking a page out of the Book of Shadows erases the spell, did you?" Wyatt asked, derisively. "That Book is my heritage, Chris. It has no secrets from me."

"What are you doing here?" Chris asked, changing tactics, in the hopes of distracting Wyatt. "What could you possibly want that you can't get in the future?"

"This," Wyatt said, gesturing.

A swirl of orbs surrounded a startled Paige, who appeared a second later, standing next to Wyatt, his hands locked around her arm in an iron grip. With a cruel smile, he orbed away, leaving the shocked inhabitants of the kitchen to wonder just what the hell had happened.

* * *

"Let go of me," Paige snapped, somewhat fearfully, as she and Wyatt materialized in a deserted part of the Underworld.

Wyatt complied, sending her stumbling across the rough ground. She caught her balance with some difficulty, and stood there, glaring at the future version of her beloved nephew. She didn't try orbing away from him; she'd already done so when he'd grabbed her, with no success, and had determined that Wyatt had somehow neutralized at least one of her powers. She was, for all intents and purposes, defenseless and frighteningly mortal.

"What do you want with me?" she asked, trying unsuccessfully to keep her voice from quaking with panic as she folded her arms protectively around the mound that was baby Chris.

"You'll find out in time," Wyatt assured her, smirking as he noticed her efforts to shield her baby from him.

Waving a hand, he gestured grandly, and the large, incredibly comfortable rocking chair from her bedroom appeared in the center of the empty space. Another gesture brought other amenities from her everyday life into the cavern as well. Paige stared in amazement at her possessions, and then at Wyatt, wondering if he'd completely lost his mind.

"Feel free to make yourself comfortable," he said, his tone almost pleasant and cheerful. "But," he warned, indicating the glowing crystals set up around the only entrance of the cavern, "don't try to leave. You won't be able to get past the barrier."

He turned and started to walk away, but turned back after a second.

"Don't worry, Aunt Paige," he said. "I'm not going to harm you."

With those parting words, he walked through the entrance and reset the crystals before he orbed away, leaving her terrified and alone.

* * *

"What the hell just happened?" Phoebe shrieked, her shrill tone bringing Hugh and Paris running, Wyatt held safely in Paris's arms.

"Wyatt kidnapped Mom," Chris said, his tone radiating shock and amazement.

"What?" Paris demanded, looking instinctively down at the little boy she held tightly.

"Not him," Chris corrected automatically. "His future self. From my time."

"The one we were have supposed to have saved from being evil," Piper snapped, not really angry with him, but desperately needing to lash out all the same.

"I think one of you needs to call Leo," Hugh said, trying to remain calm while the rest of his newfound family went to pieces. "We're going to need his help."

"And Dad's," Paris said, regaining a bit of her earlier composure. "Wouldn't Mom have some way of contacting him?"

"His cell phone," Chris said. "The number would be in her address book, in her purse."

Eager to do something, anything, to come closer to finding his mom, Chris jumped up and snatched Paige's purse off the counter, rifling through it desperately. A few seconds later, he held up an address book, with a sense of triumph, and Phoebe tossed him the telephone.

"Hello, Demetri?" he said, when he got an answer. "It's Chris. You and Leo need to come home, right now. Mom's been kidnapped."

The only answer he received was the dial tone as Demetri hung up on him, presumably to rush back to the Manor from wherever he and Leo were.

"They're on their way here," he informed his family, shortly.

"Now what do we do?" Piper demanded. "We can't just sit here while Wyatt-"

She broke down, then, dissolving into helpless sobs as she remembered the look of malice on her son's face.

"This can't be real," she choked out, between gasping breaths. "We saved Wyatt from turning evil. Vanquishing Vicus should have stopped it from happening."

"Maybe Vicus just put a spell or curse on him, honey," Phoebe said, soothingly. "Then we just have to figure out what it is and break it."

"What if it's not a spell?" Piper asked, her tone helpless and defeated. "What if it's Wyatt? What if, after everything Leo and I do to raise him properly, he's still destined to become evil? What if it's just a part of who he is?"

"If I thought that for even a second," Chris snapped, startling her with the harshness of his voice, "I would never have come back here in the first place. Wyatt can be redeemed; you saw that when the Order tried to turn him evil."

"Chris is right," Phoebe spoke up, quietly. "If Wyatt was really destined for evil, we never would have gotten him back from those demons. There is a way to save him, we just have to find it."

"What about Mom?" Paris asked, drawing everyone's attention. "Is there a way to save her, too?"

"Chris," Phoebe said, turning to her nephew. "You know Wyatt best. What is he likely to do to Paige?"

"Right now," Chris said quietly, filled with his earlier dread, "he's capable of anything."

* * *

"Wyatt!" Paige yelled, furious, now that she'd gotten over her initial bout of terror. "I know you can hear me. Get down here!"

She waited, but there was no answer. Frustrated, she huffed out the breath she'd been holding and starting pacing the confines of her prison. While she traced a path in the dust, she flung out a hand at the nearest wall. When no beam of energy left her hand, she determined that Wyatt had neutralized all of her powers, and not just orbing, like she'd hoped.

Suddenly, she stopped dead in her pacing, as she felt a twinge of pain that rippled across her abdomen. A very familiar pain.

"No," she whispered, suddenly more scared by that pain than by anything Wyatt had done so far. "I'm not going into labor. I can't possibly be. It's too early."

But another shot of pain, this one sharper than before, quickly proved her wrong. Lacing her hands over her abdomen, Paige anxiously focused on the baby inside her. Dimly, she could sense big Chris, his panic and fear mirroring her own. More immediate was the sense of the baby inside her shifting, readying himself to come into the world. A world not yet ready for him.

_'Please stay in. It's too early; it's not safe,'_ she begged silently, knowing it did no good.

In answer, another contraction washed over her, sending her reeling into the comfort of her rocking chair. And she wept, bitterly, as she thought of her son's untimely impending birth.

* * *

"Mom," Chris gasped, suddenly, drawing the undivided attention of everyone in the kitchen.

"Chris, what's wrong?" Leo asked, worriedly.

"It's Mom," Chris repeated, distantly, his attention focused elsewhere.

"You can sense Paige?" Phoebe demanded eagerly.

"Just barely," Chris replied, distracted. "She's panicked and scared, and in pain."

"Wyatt hurt her," Piper said, hearing her worst fears confirmed, but Chris surprised her.

"No," he corrected. "It's not Wyatt. It's…something else."

"Can you tell what's hurting her?" Demetri asked, his voice tight with worry.

"No," Chris said, shaking his head with frustration as he lost the tenuous connection he'd established with Paige.

"And now I can't sense anything," he continued, angrily.

"Don't worry, buddy," Leo said, quietly. "We're going to get her and you home safe and sound."

"Leo's right," Phoebe piped up. "Everything will be just fine; you'll see."

Chris dredged up a weak smile at his aunt's enthusiasm, before he stood and walked out of the kitchen. After a moment, Leo stood and followed him.

"Chris?" he said, quietly, seeing his son standing slumped by the window.

"This is all my fault," Chris said, after a moment, not looking over at his father. "I should have known that Wyatt wasn't going to just sit back and let me run amok here in the past."

"Even you couldn't have known that he was going to go this far," Leo countered. "How could any of us have anticipated him kidnapping Paige?"

"That's just it," Chris said. "I didn't see this coming. I mean, why go after Mom; why not attack me, directly?"

"He is," Leo said, the color draining from his face as the truth suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks.

"What?" Chris asked, confused.

"He's not attacking you because he's going to stop you from ever coming back in the first place," Leo whispered, horrified.

"And the best way to do that is to kill me as an infant," Chris finished.

* * *

Paige groaned, in agony, as another contraction hit her. They'd been coming faster and stronger for the past half an hour, and she knew only too well what that meant. Her baby wanted to be born, and nothing was stopping him. Certainly not one exhausted, powerless witch.

"Things are certainly happening faster than I expected."

Paige jerked, startled, as Wyatt's voice intruded on her thoughts.

"What do you want?" she whispered, feeling drained of her energy.

"I just want everyone to leave me alone," Wyatt replied, sitting down in the chair facing her. "I'm tired of people trying to change me."

"Chris," Paige murmured to herself, as realization dawned.

"You're not touching my baby," she snarled, a second later, as anger flooded her veins, giving her a new surge of energy.

"And how do you plan on stopping me?" Wyatt asked, sardonically. "I've bound your powers, Aunt Paige."

"I don't need powers to fight you," Paige snapped, gritting her way through another contraction.

"I don't want to have to kill you," Wyatt said, patiently, "because I don't know how the future will change if I do, but I will if I have to. If you don't cooperate with me."

"And by cooperate, you mean handing my newborn son over to you so that you can kill him," Paige said, coldly. "Over my dead body."

"You're being stubborn," Wyatt told her. "I don't want to have to kill Chris, either. If he would just stop opposing me-"

"He's trying to save you, Wyatt," Paige insisted, cutting him off. "We all are."

"Don't you see?" Wyatt said, becoming agitated. "I don't need saving. All I've done is become what I was born to be."

"And what would that be?" Paige asked, eyeing her nephew warily.

"All-powerful," Wyatt responded, the smile that lit his face scaring her like nothing before had.

"You aren't meant to be all-powerful," Paige said, softly.

"When three planets burn as one over a sky of dancing light, magic will reston a holy day to welcome a twice blessed child," Wyatt quoted. "Sounds pretty all-powerful to me."

"That's not what that means," Paige protested, weakly.

"And then there's Excalibur," Wyatt continued, overriding her. "Only the ultimate Power can wield it, remember?"

"I remember Piper being corrupted by it, and only caring about power," Paige told him. "Just like you seem to be."

"I haven't been corrupted!" Wyatt exploded. "How many times must I repeat myself?"

"This isn't what you were born to be!" Paige yelled right back. "You're supposed to be a source of good, Wyatt. Not evil."

"I've had people saying that my whole life," Wyatt said, smirking. "Tell me, Aunt Paige, what would you say if you knew that it wasn't an illness that killed you in my time, but a curse?"

"And how would you know that?" Paige asked, afraid to hear his answer.

"Because I'm the one that cast it," Wyatt told her, still smiling.

Paige closed her eyes, as grief overtook her.

"You murdered me," she said, finally.

"Very good," Wyatt said, mockingly. "Like I said earlier, I have no idea what will happen if I kill you now, as opposed to later, so I'd like to keep you alive, if possible."

"Then that's not going to be possible," Paige told him. "Because you're not touching my son unless I'm dead."

"Don't be such a martyr," Wyatt told her. "It's not like you'd even remember Chris. I'm going to erase your memories, afterward."

"And that means I should just give him over to you, to die?" Paige asked, in disbelief. "Go to Hell."

"Such language," Wyatt tsked. "You're going to want to stop that, once you're back home around all those impressionable children."

Paige closed her eyes in pain, both physical from the contractions, and emotional from Wyatt's deliberate cruelty.

"I'm not giving you my son," she whispered.

"Don't you understand that you don't have a choice?" Wyatt explained, patiently. "Either you give me Chris, or I'll take him from you, forcibly."

"I don't think you understand," Paige retorted, glaring at him. "I will not give Chris to you. And you'll have to kill me to take him from me."

She would have said more, but a sudden contraction, more painful than the ones before it, had her doubling over in agony. At the same time, the chair she was sitting on suddenly felt very wet.

"I don't think it's going to be very long, now, do you?" Wyatt asked, conversationally.

He helped her off the chair to lay down on the mattresses he'd orbed off her bed. Paige tried to pull away but she was helpless in the face of Wyatt's strength.

She cried out, weakly, as she was overcome by another contraction and Wyatt grinned.

"Not long at all," he repeated. "Don't worry, Aunt Paige, my memory spells are the best. You won't remember a thing about Chris."

At his words, a tear crept down Paige's cheek, but she couldn't talk, as her energy was rapidly being drained.

Then, she was overcome by a sudden, stabbing pain, and when it cleared, she saw, to her immense horror, her newborn son cradled in Wyatt's arms.

* * *

"I think I know how to get Mom back!" Paris burst out, running into the living room, startling Chris and Leo.

"How?" Chris demanded, spinning to face his sister.

"The blood-to-blood summoning spell," Paris told him, grinning triumphantly.

"It wouldn't be strong enough," Chris said, tiredly. "Not against Wyatt's magic."

"It will be if it's Wyatt who summons her," Paris said, still excited, and Chris's eyes lit up with comprehension.

"That's perfect!" he exclaimed.

"What are you two talking about?" Leo asked.

"If we just did a standard summoning spell," Chris explained, "it wouldn't be powerful enough to get through whatever defenses Wyatt's erected around Mom. But if we add baby Wyatt's blood to the mix-"

"-It'll be like Wyatt was casting the spell, himself," Piper joined in, having heard the last bit of the conversation.

"Especially if the four of us," Phoebe added, nodding at Chris and Paris, "are the ones casting the spell. Two Charmed Ones, and the children of the third ought to be powerful enough, don't you think?"

"I think it's worth a shot," Leo said, and Chris grinned, suddenly.

"I'll get the-" Paris started to say, but she trailed off as Hugh shimmered in, the Book of Shadows cradled in his arms.

"-the Book," Paris finished, lamely.

"I figured we'd need this sooner or later," Hugh explained, handing the Book to Chris so that he could find the appropriate summoning spell.

"Good instincts," Leo said, and Hugh beamed at the unexpected praise from his uncle.

"I found the spell," Chris said, drawing everyone's attention. "Piper, we're going to need-"

"Already ahead of you," Piper said, showing him a silver chalice filled with various herbs. "Ironically enough, this spell that we're about to do is the same one that brought Paige to us in the first place."

"That makes it even more appropriate," Demetri remarked, quietly, from the kitchen doorway looking drawn-out and haggard.

"We can give them our energy for the spell, can't we?" Hugh said, suddenly, looking at Demetri, who visibly brightened at the idea.

"That's right," he said, slowly. "I remember reading somewhere how a witch can transfer magical energy into another witch through a spell. I don't remember it, though," he said, frustration evident in his voice.

"But I do," a new voice piped up. Everyone whirled around to see three strangers materialize suddenly in the middle of the living room.

"I'm Jolene," the woman said, before Piper could demand an explanation. "This is Greg," she continued, gesturing to the men, "and Duncan. We're Paige's future in-laws."

"That is," she said, a moment later, to Demetri, "if you've actually proposed to Paige, this time."

"I haven't had the chance," Demetri admitted sheepishly, looking much better than he had minutes ago.

"Mr. Forgetful here never actually proposed to your sister the first time around," Duncan said. "He realized it right after they exchanged vows."

"That's all well and good," Chris snapped, impatiently, "but can we please get back to saving Mom before Wyatt hurts her?"

"Right," Greg said, briskly.

"The power transfer will be good for an hour," Jolene told them, "during which time you'll have our magical strength bolstering yours. We'll also be fairly useless during that time, so we won't be able to help you beyond that spell."

"Witches, let's do this," Phoebe said, and they all trooped up to the attic.

Piper, Phoebe, Chris, Paris, and Wyatt arranged themselves in a rough circle around the chalice, linking hands as they formed the points of a pentagram. Demetri, Hugh, Greg, Duncan, and Jolene stood behind them, placing their hands on their shoulders in preparation for the spell. Taking a deep breath, Jolene began to speak, the others following a heartbeat behind her.

_"What's ours is yours, _

_We give to thine._

_Let our power cross the line._

_We offer up our gifts to share._

_Send our power through the air."_

A wave of light passed from the outer circle to the inner, and then faded. Demetri and the others stepped back, as everyone focused on the five witches around the chalice.

One by one, the four older witches solemnly pricked their fingers, allowing their blood to drip onto the herbs. Piper pricked Wyatt's finger, next,and the toddler watched his blood mingle with the others without a single outcry. Leo quickly healed the cut on his finger, and then stepped back, as they began the spell.

_"Power of the witches rise,_

_Course unseen across the skies._

_Come to us who call you near._

_Come to us and settle here._

_Blood to blood, we summon thee._

_Blood to blood, return to me."_

A breathless heartbeat passed, and then a swirl of bright lights filled the attic. As they cleared, Paige collapsed, exhausted, into Chris's arms. He was horrified to see the blood that covered her legs, but even more so by her first words.

"We have to go back there!" she cried. "Wyatt's going to kill you!"

Without a word, he grabbed Piper and Phoebe, as Paige clung weakly to him, and he orbed down to the Underworld.

* * *

"I hate waiting!" Demetri exploded, from where he'd been pacing a hole in the rug ever since Chris and the sisters had orbed away.

"We don't have any other choice," Leo pointed out, diplomatically. "You four are next to useless after the spell you cast, and I'd be more of a hindrance than a help to them down there."

"Your son is down there," Demetri growled. "Don't you care at all?"

"Of course I do," Leo replied. "But I have faith in the sisters, in Chris, and in Hugh to take care of things down here, while we take care of things up here."

"What things?" Demetri demanded.

"Like finding out how to reverse whatever it is that Vicus did to Wyatt," Leo told him. "If we can change his toddler self back to good, his future self will change as well."

"And how do we go about doing that?" Demetri asked, quieter now.

"I have no idea," Leo admitted, reluctantly.

"Trust," Paris said, slowly.

"What was that?" Demetri asked, as everyone in the room turned to face her.

"Trust," Paris repeated. "Vicus kept saying how Wyatt would only be one of us when we'd gained his trust."

"It makes sense," Leo said. "Hugh turned good when he trusted Phoebe to save his life-"

"After Vicus betrayed his trust by trying to kill him," Paris interjected, and Leo nodded in agreement.

"And then you came back to us after you attacked Vicus to save Paige," Demetri noted, and Paris turned bright red.

"Mom said she wasn't going to tell you that," Paris muttered.

"But how did Vicus get Wyatt's trust in the first place?" Leo asked, puzzled.

"Through a focus object," Paris replied, immediately. "For me, it was my picture of Mom and Dad. Hugh's was the locket he wears that his grandmother gave him. Vicus convinced us to give him the objects and then he put his spell on them, cursing us."

"And when you placed your trust in someone good, the spell was broken," Demetri observed. "That doesn't help us with Wyatt, though. I mean, we can't put him in a life-threatening situation and hope he trusts Leo to save him."

"No, but if he willingly gave me the object Vicus cursed, it should reverse it as well," Leo said, slowly.

"We just have to figure out what he cursed," Jolene spoke up. "Which could be anything in his life."

"Not necessarily," Duncan told his sister. Turning to Leo, he asked, "Has Wyatt been clinging to one of his toys more than usual, lately?"

"His bear," Leo said, after a moment of thought. "Paige gave him a teddy bear for his birthday, since his last one was impaled. He hasn't let that thing out of his sight for weeks."

"He had a teddy bear with him when he was in the Underworld," Paris recalled, suddenly. "I never saw if he took it with him, though."

"You mean that bear?" Greg asked, pointing. Everyone turned to see Wyatt sitting in his playpen, possessively clutching a small, brown bear.

"Hey, Wyatt," Leo crooned, walking over to his son. "Is that your bear?"

"Wuvey," Wyatt declared, hugging the bear tighter.

"He sure is a handsome bear," Leo continued, calmly. "Can I see him?"

"Mine," Wyatt insisted, stubbornly, not releasing his hold on the stuffed animal.

"I know," Leo said. "I just want to give Wuvey a hug, like you're doing. What do you say, Wyatt? Can I hug Wuvey, too?"

Wyatt looked uncertainly between the bear and his father for a long couple of seconds. Then, he smiled brightly and handed the bear to Leo. As soon as Leo clasped the toy, it and Wyatt were surrounded by a bright light. It faded a second later, and Leo sighed in relief.

"You did it," Demetri said, as Leo swept Wyatt up into his arms.

"Let's go tell the others," was all he said.

* * *

Chris and his passengers materialized in front of a doorway to a cavern, each side of the entrance surrounded by crystals. Seconds later, Hugh shimmered in behind them, and Phoebe whirled around as she sensed her son's presence.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed, furiously. "Your powers-"

"I'm half demon," Hugh interrupted her, quickly. "Those powers weren't affected by the spell we cast."

"We'll need his help to face Wyatt," Paige told them, leaning heavily on Chris to keep herself on her feet, and Hugh shot his aunt a grateful smile.

"I don't like you putting yourself in danger like this," Phoebe protested.

"And I don't like feeling useless," Hugh retorted. "Mom, I've spent most of my life down here. I know how to handle myself in a fight."

"We could use all the help we can get," Chris said. "Even with our temporarily enhanced powers."

"Fine," Phoebe conceded, unhappily, and Hugh kicked the crystals away from the entrance in reply.

They stormed into the cavern in time to see Wyatt bending over baby Chris, an athame clutched in his upraised hand.

"NO!" Paige screamed, wildly, as she saw the danger her son was in.

Her outcry startled Wyatt enough that he paused for a second. In that moment, an energy ball flew over their shoulders to obliterate the athame he held, just as baby Chris orbed into Paige's arms.

Wyatt shook his hand in irritation, as though the energy ball had merely stung him, rather than causing damage.

"I should have known that none of you would leave well enough alone," he growled.

In answer, Chris wordlessly flung out a hand, hitting Wyatt with a blast of telekinetic energy that threw him across the cavern. Wyatt climbed to his feet, laughing.

"You always were weak, Chris," he said. "Never could go in for the kill."

"I don't want to kill you, Wyatt," Chris said, his face impassive.

"Your loss," Wyatt responded.

He threw an energy ball at Chris, who flinched reflexively, but it never touched him. Instead, another energy ball hit the first one, causing an explosion in midair.

"I love being a demon," Hugh said, conversationally, as he stepped up beside Chris. Wyatt shook his head in disbelief at what he considered to be a token resistance.

"None of you are strong enough to stop me," he said. "I don't know why you even try."

"Because we're your family, Wyatt," Piper said.

"We're not giving up on you, Wyatt," Phoebe added, supporting Paige as they stood beside the others.

"I can't believe I come from such do-gooders," Wyatt said, rolling his eyes.

Suddenly, he threw another energy ball, this one striking Hugh in the chest. He flew backwards to hit the wall, and slumped to the ground, groaning.

"Hugh!" Phoebe cried, turning to her son.

Wyatt attacked her while she was distracted, and Chris tackled her to the ground, watching as the energy ball scorched the far wall.

"That's it," Chris muttered, standing up.

He telekinetically flung Wyatt away, putting all of his borrowed energy behind the blow, as Piper unleashed a burst of her explosive energy. Wyatt crashed into the ceiling and hit the ground hard, rocks tumbling around him.

Everyone waited, anxiously, as Wyatt lay still. Then, amazingly, he stood up and started towards them. But before he'd taken his first step, he glowed with a brilliant white light.

Wyatt staggered slightly as the light receded, and he shook his head as if to clear it. Then he looked, confused, at his family standing assembled before him.

"Chris?" he asked, his voice and attitude completely different than it had been seconds before. "Chris, what happened? Where are we?"

"You don't remember?" Chris asked, guardedly, walking cautiously towards his brother.

"I-" Wyatt began, and then his voice trailed off as his eyes widened. "Oh, God," he whispered, horrified, as the memories rushed back to him. "Oh, God, what have I done?"

"Piper!" a new voice shouted, startling everyone. They turned to see Leo, Demetri, and Paris running breathlessly toward them, Wyatt clasped safely in Leo's arms.

"We reversed Vicus's spell," Leo said. "Wyatt 's not evil, anymore."

"We know," Piper said, softly, indicating where Wyatt and Chris stood in the center of the cavern.

The two young men were talking quietly, too quietly for anyone to hear them. Then, Chris suddenly seized his brother in a hug, a move that cleared shocked Wyatt. They talked for a few seconds longer, then Chris led the way over to the group.

"How can you possibly forgive me after what I've said, what I've done?" Wyatt asked, plaintively, as he stood nervously before his family.

"That's what brothers do, Wy," Chris told him.

"That's what families do," Paige corrected, gently, and Wyatt looked, ashamed, at her.

"I'm so sorry," he said quietly.

"It's okay," Paige said, surprising even herself. "You're not that person anymore."

"Come on," Phoebe said, into the silence that followed that exchange. "Let's go home."

* * *

"Hey, Leo," Phoebe said, as she saw the Elder standing at the foot of the staircase. "Putting off going to the good-bye party?"

"What?" Leo asked, turning distractedly toward her.

"What are you doing?" Phoebe asked, simplifying her earlier remark.

"Oh, I was just thinking," Leo said.

"About what?" Phoebe prompted, hoping to get him to open up to her.

"About how complicated everything's gotten, with Piper and Paige," Leo admitted.

"I love Piper, with everything I am, and nothing will ever change that," he continued. "But I can't help feeling something for Paige, even if it's just because of our son. And then there's Chris and my unborn daughter to think of as well."

"No one ever said that life in this family would be simple," Phoebe joked, but Leo frowned slightly.

"It could just be a lot easier, though, you know," he remarked wistfully, and Phoebe shook her head in confusion.

"What could be easier?" she asked, suspiciously.

"This whole situation. If Chris really were Piper's son," he told her.

"But he's not," Phoebe said, immediately, deeply concerned. "He's Paige's son. A son that she loves very much. And it would kill her to lose him."

"I know that," Leo replied. "But, at the same time, he's a reminder that I've betrayed Piper by being with Paige. No matter how much I love him, I can't get away from that."

"Leo," Phoebe began, but her brother-in-law was already walking up the staircase to the attic.

After a moment, Phoebe followed, an uneasy feeling settling in the pit of her stomach. She arrived to find Wyatt and Chris arguing with Piper and Paige.

"What's wrong?" she asked, still disconcerted from her conversation with Leo.

"The future," Chris told her, and she frowned in confusion.

"How do we know it's safe?" Piper asked, clarifying the issue. "I mean, I'm not sending Chris and Wyatt back to the future unless we know everything is right again."

"Ditto," Paige echoed.

"How are we supposed to know that?" Phoebe asked, exasperated.

"Oh, come on," Paige chided her, gently. "Your power is seeing the future. If anyone can find out, you can."

"Right," Phoebe said, sheepishly. "Give me your hands," she instructed, stepping toward Chris and Wyatt. "Both of you."

They did as she said, and Phoebe closed her eyes in concentration. Then, she heard a child's laugh, and she opened them, startled.

_"Anyone home?" a man yelled, entering through the front door, holding a squirming toddler tight in his arms. "Mom, Aunt Piper, Aunt Paige?"_

_"In here," a familiar voice called out, and Phoebe watched her future self walk out of the kitchen. "How are you, honey?"_

_"I'm great, Mom," Hugh said, and Phoebe gasped, seeing the man her son would become. _

_Future Phoebe smiled and hugged her son, and then looked over his shoulder. "Didn't Steven and the baby come with you?" she asked. _

_"Steve's parking the car and he's got your grandson with him," Hugh replied. "Said something about how I seemed to already have my hands full with this one-"_

_His voice broke off with a grunt as the little girl in his arms succeeded in wriggling out of his grasp and sprinting eagerly across the room, only to be scooped up by a young woman in her twenties with honey-blond hair._

_"Where do you think you're going, huh?" she asked, tickling the girl until she screamed with laughter._

_"Prue!" Hugh exclaimed, seeing her. "You're back from college!"_

_"Of course I am, you doofus," Prue said. "I wanted to see the family, and besides, Mom would kill me if I didn't show up for Thanksgiving dinner."_

_"I heard that," Piper called from the kitchen. "And you're absolutely right."_

_"You're the first ones here, you know," Prue continued, pointedly ignoring her mother. _

_"Not anymore, he's not," another voice spoke up, from the entryway. "Thanks, Steve."_

_A woman with long, dark hair entered the foyer to join the group, and Phoebe wouldn't have recognized her as Paris unless Prue hadn't called her by name as she was hugging her. The aforementioned Steve entered as well, greeting future Phoebe with a kiss on the cheek, before joining Hugh. He wrapped an affectionate arm around the other man's waist as he shifted the baby in his arms to a more comfortable position._

_Then, the front door opened yet again and a grinning teenage girl came into the room._

_"Gimme my nephew," she said, eagerly, as Steve handed the baby over._

_"What?" Hugh said, feigning hurt. "No hug for your big brother?"_

_"Or your own mother?" future Phoebe asked, pointedly. "You know, missy, just 'cause you went away to college early…"_

_"I'd hug you," the girl replied, cheekily, "but my arms are full of baby."_

_"You definitely take after your father," future Phoebe told her, with mock sternness, as Hugh choked on his laughter._

_"Speaking of, will he be joining us?" a new voice chimed in, and Paige poked her head out of the kitchen. "I need a head count if I hope to set the table sometime before Piper finishes dinner."_

_"He's caught up at work again," future Phoebe said, as Phoebe burned with curiosity about who her future husband could possibly be. "But he said he would be here."_

_"I'll help you set the table, Mom," Paris said, extricating herself from the knot of people and heading towards her mother. "Hey, have you heard from Uncle Greg lately?"_

_"Just this morning, as a matter of fact," Paige said. "He and I spent nearly two hours talking about your dad."_

_"It's hard to believe it's been fifteen years since he died," Paris said softly. "I really miss him, Mom."_

_Phoebe gasped in shock, but couldn't hear any more, as Paige and Paris disappeared into the dining room, their voices growing indistinct._

_Then she got another shock as a dark-haired boy left the kitchen, covered in flour head to toe. To her amazement, Phoebe recognized the toddler she'd seen in her earlier vision in the teenager that stood before her future self._

_"Do I even want to ask what happened?" future Phoebe asked, stifling her laughter behind her hand. _

_"Or what condition Aunt Piper and the kitchen are in?" her daughter asked, not bothering to hide the grin on her face._

_"Dinner will be late," the boy said, his tone serious. "And I'm going upstairs to take a shower."_

_"Josh, sweetheart," future Phoebe called out, as he stalked silently away. The boy turned toward her, quizzically, and she gestured at the carpet. _

_"You're leaving footprints," she told him, finally giving into the laughter._

_Josh grinned sheepishly, finally seeing the humor in the situation, before retreating upstairs. He was passed by Chris and Wyatt coming down, who stared at him in amazement._

_"Not a word," Josh warned them, glaring darkly at his cousins._

_Wyatt shook his head, holding his hands up in capitulation._

_"Wasn't going to say a word," Chris assured him. Josh nodded and continued up to the bathroom._

_"To his face, anyway," Wyatt said, snickering. Chris elbowed him, playfully. _

_"Where have you two been all day?" Piper asked, emerging from the kitchen, as Paige came out from the dining room._

_"Uh, well," Chris stammered, looking at Wyatt nervously. _

_"We were just up in the attic," Wyatt temporized quickly. _

_"Doing what, exactly?" Paige asked, suspiciously. _

_"Er, that's a long story," Chris hedged._

_"Luckily for you two, we've got all night for you to tell it," Phoebe said brightly, as the two exchanged worried glances._

Phoebe opened her eyes, for real this time, and smiled at her family.

"What'd you see?" Piper demanded, when she was silent for a long moment.

"I saw the most beautiful future," Phoebe said, softly, ignoring, for the moment, her knowledge of Demetri's fate. "A future you helped create," she added, looking at Chris.

"So I guess we don't have any reason not to send them back," Paige said, sadly.

"There's just the matter of how we're going to do that," Piper said.

"I was thinking that we'd use the spell that Grams and Mom used to send us and Prue back to our time," Phoebe spoke up. "I think Grams wrote it in the Book."

"She did," Piper said, after she'd flipped through the Book's pages. "Here it is. You guys ready to do this?"

"No," Paige said honestly. "But I guess we don't have any choice."

"Well," Phoebe said, suddenly, smiling brightly to cover the tears that had sprung to her eyes, "how about a goodbye hug from my two favorite nephews?"

"Bye, Aunt Phoebe," Chris said, hugging her tightly, Wyatt following his lead.

"Bye," she whispered, hugging them both. "Take care and have a safe trip back."

"Of course we will," Wyatt responded. "You're sending us."

Chris hugged Piper next.

"Thank you for coming," she told him. "You saved my baby boy, and I'll always be grateful for that."

"Aww, Mom," Wyatt muttered, embarrassed, from where he was saying goodbye to Paige.

"I'm allowed to get a little sappy," Piper retorted.

"It's a mother's prerogative," Paige informed him.

"Yeah, I know," Wyatt replied, his tone affectionately resigned. "Bye, Aunt Paige."

"Take care, sweetie," she said, hugging him. "Stay good."

"Count on it," he told her.

"See ya, big sis," Chris said to Paris, kneeling to hug her.

"Not for twenty-three years," she replied, cheekily. "And don't worry, I won't be _too_ bossy when Mom and Dad leave me in charge."

"With a disclaimer like that, there may be less opportunity for that than you think," Demetri told her.

"Take care, Chris," he said, approaching his stepson. "You too, Wyatt."

"Bye," Hugh said, shaking hands with both of them.

"See you, squirt," Chris said, to baby Wyatt, as the toddler squirmed in Leo's arms. Laughing, Leo let him down, and he staggered unsteadily over to Chris to wrap his arms around one of his legs.

"Bye-bye Cwis," he said, clearly, and Chris swept him up into a fierce hug.

"You know," he remarked conversationally to Wyatt, "you were so cute at this age. What the heck happened?"

"Oh, shut up," Wyatt said, exasperated.

"Behave," Paige and Piper said, immediately, causing everyone in the room to laugh.

"Do I get a hug?" Leo asked, or would the two of you rather just be manly and shake hands?"

"Hug," Chris and Wyatt chorused, a second before they enveloped their father.

"Bye, Dad," Wyatt said, disentangling himself first.

"Love you, Dad," Chris said, surprising Leo with the endearment.

"I won't screw up this time, Chris," Leo said, gazing earnestly at his youngest son. "I'm going to be a good dad, the right way."

"I'll hold you to that," Chris told him.

"So will the rest of us," Phoebe called out, shooting Leo a look.

Wyatt, meanwhile, had gone over to where Piper stood and embraced her tightly.

"Love you, Mom," he whispered, as he held her.

"Love you, too," Piper told him. She brushed a hand lightly over his long hair before giving him one last squeeze and stepping back.

"I've always known that this day was coming," Paige said gently, gazing at her son, "but now that it's here, I don't want to say goodbye."

"You'll see me again in twenty-three years," Chris said lightly, but Paige shook her head.

"It just won't be the same," she replied. "But don't worry, I have no intention of comparing you to him," she added, nodding at the baby sleeping peacefully in Demetri's arms.

"Goodbye, Mom," Chris said, at last, hugging Paige. "I love you."

"Love you too, angel," Paige told him, her voice choking with tears.

Reluctantly she ended the embrace, stepping back to join her sisters.

"A time for everything," Phoebe began the spell, her voice wavering ever so slightly.

"And to everything, its place," Piper continued, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Return what has been moved," Paige finished softly, speaking around the lump in her throat, "through time and space."

Glowing white lights surrounded Wyatt and Chris, blinding the other occupants of the attic. Then, they cleared and the two were gone.

"Well, that's it then," Phoebe said, looking at the spot where they'd stood. "They're back in their own time."

"Who wants tea?" Piper asked, swiping the tears away from her eyes.

"I'll help you with it," Hugh offered, as they started downstairs.

"Paige?" Demetri turned back to his fiancee. "Honey, are you coming?"

"In a minute," she said, absently, staring out the window. Then, Chris started to fuss, and she turned around.

"Give him here," she said, holding out her hands. Demetri handed him over, and Paige smiled reassuringly at the baby.

"I'll be down in a minute," she repeated, all of her attention on her son.

Demetri nodded and exited silently, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

For the longest time, Paige simply stood at the window, gently crooning to Chris, and rocking him, to quiet his fussing, while her thoughts raced through time to dwell on the young man who'd just left.

Then, her focus shifted to the baby she held in her arms. Smiling down at him, she jiggled him gently, causing him to squeal with joy.

"You're going to grow into quite a remarkable young man, Christopher," she told him, as her son watched her curiously.

Then, she left the attic to join her family downstairs, shutting the attic door behind her as she went.

* * *

Chris and Wyatt materialized in the attic and looked around at distinctly unfamiliar surroundings.

"Are you sure the spell worked?" Wyatt asked, uncertainly. "I mean, it's the same attic, but none of this stuff is ours."

"Only one way to find out," Chris said. "Let's go downstairs and see who's home."

Wyatt nodded, going over to the window and looking outside, curiously. What he saw had him paling.

"Wy?" Chris said, noticing his brother's reaction. "What's wrong?"

"Come take a look at this," Wyatt said, his voice quiet and strained.

"What is it?" Chris asked, worried now. Moving quickly over to the window, he peered outside and got his answer.

"Oh my God," he gasped, chilled to his core.

A group of people was shuffling slowly down the street, the chains around their wrists and ankles clinking loudly in the silence. That, by itself, was shocking enough. What was worse, however, was the hulking, menacing demon stalking behind the people, clearly herding them along like cattle. Other demons walked the streets, seeming to be on patrol.

"That wasn't there when I left," Wyatt said, softly.

"And unless Aunt Phoebe's got a really sick, twisted sense of humor, I doubt that this is the beautiful future she saw," Chris remarked.

Then, acting on instinct, he moved away from the window, shoving Wyatt to the other side of the room, just as one of the demons looked up at the Manor. After a second, the demon moved on, and Chris dared to breathe again.

"I don't think he saw us," Wyatt said, quietly, staying away from the window nonetheless.

"That's good," Chris remarked, "because I don't want to have to vanquish that guy when there are a dozen more like him within yelling range."

"Agreed," Wyatt told him. "Now to figure out just what the hell happened."

Chris was about to reply, when he heard the unmistakable sound of the front door slamming shut…

**A/N3:** Yes, I'm cruel for leaving it like that, and yes, this means that there'll be a sequel. See you there. :)


End file.
